. "II^" 1 3 '' ■Zy&'£r~ r + V THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITING SOEOMON THE BRINGING UP OF THE ARK CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN CONTENTS. PAGE; THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN 17 THE MURDER OF ABEL 24 NOAH AND THE FLOOD . 27 THE TOWER OF BABEL 32, ABRAHAM AND LOT 33 ISAAC AND REBEKAH 44 JACOB AND ESAU 47 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN 67 MOSES IN EGYPT . . . ; 82 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS 105 RAHAB AND THE SPIES 143 THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN ....'......, 146 STORY OF THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL 151 RUTH AND NAOMI 168 SAMUEL AND ELI 172 SAMUEL AND SAUL 180 THE STORY OF DAVID 187 KING SOLOMON 207 THE STORY OF ELIJAH 222 THE STORY OF ELISHA 233 THE LAST KINGS OF THE HEBREWS 252 THE CAPTIVITY 269' THE STORY OF JOB 285 THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM . -. , 293 JESUS BEGINS HIS WORK 305 JESUS IN GALILEE 314 THE STORM ON THE LAKE 321 SAMARITAN STORIES 333 LAST DAYS IN JERUSALEM 344 THE TRIAL AND CRUCIFIXION 350 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES 370 5 BEAUTIFUL Bible Stories CONTAINING Captivatinq Narratives OF THE MOST STRIKING SCENES AND EVENTS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT; LIVES OF THE PROPHETS, KINGS AND HEROES OF THE BIBLE, ETC. INCLUDING THE Story of Christ and His Apostles DESIGNED TO PROMOTE A GREATER INTEREST IN THE BIBLE AMONG PERSONS OF ALL AGES, ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG BY GRANDPA REUBEN PRESCOTT THE WELL-KNOWN AUTHOR Profusely Embellished with 5uperb Phototype and Wood Engravings NATIONAL PUBLISHING CO. 239, 241 AND 243 AMERICAN STREET PHILADELPHIA, PA. TWO COPIES RECKXVKD, Library cf Cctigret% Ap « Office of the /?0 ,pam 4 - ipnn RcgliUr of Copyright* 51090 Fntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1899, by J. R. JONES Tn the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. All Rights Reserved SECOND COPY, 1*- PREFACE. ; ]3 RIGHT eyes and listening ears always greet the narration of the ^ 1 3 beautiful stories of the Bible to the young. To all such this volume is especially adapted, the narrative portions of the Bible being faithfully reproduced in language simple and captivating. The work begins with the story of the Creation, tells all about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the ' tragic death of Abel. It: describes the Flood, the Ark tossed on the world of waters and Noah send- ing forth the dove, and soon comes to the Tower of Babel and the Confu- sion of Tongues. The story of Abraham is fully related, together with that of the sacrifice of Isaac, the ram caught in the thicket, and the saving of the lad who comes into the romantic story of Rebekah. It describes Jacob and his beautiful dream, and tells of his troubles with Esau. • It narrates the history of Joseph and his brethren, and traces his wonderful career in Egypt. His sterling integrity is seen, his sudden rise to power, his shining virtues as a ruler, his deliverance of the people from famine, his tender regard for his brethren and affection for his father. Was there ever a young person, or old person as to that matter, who was not charmed with the picture the Bible gives us of Moses in his little life-boat, his remarkable experience at the burning bush, his shining face as he comes down from stormy Sinai, and his stern reproof of Israel's sins and follies ? Then the waters of the Jordan divide, and the great leader, Joshua, and his host pass into the Land of Promise. In the history of the Judges we see Gideon and his marvellous fleece, and Jephtha making his rash vow. Samson slays the king of beasts, is overcome by a designing woman, grinds like a slave in the treadmill, carries off the gates of Gaza and shakes down, the massive pillars of the Philistines' temple. The story of young Samuel, who grew to be a prophet, recounts the glowing deeds of another Old Testament hero. He was a good child from infancy, and having started right, he became a great and good man. His career shows that the teachings of wise parents are remembered, and mould the characters of the young. Then we have the delightful history of Ruth, the gleaner in the fields of Boaz, who met with such good fortune and was rewarded for honest industry. 3 4 PREFACE. Very interesting to the young people are the Bible stories about the old Hebrew kings and prophets. ' They tell all about that wonderful man King Saul, who was so jealous of David that he threw the javelin at him and tried to kill him. Next we hear about the exploits of David, the ruddy shepherd boy, whose marvellous sling carried swift death to the boastful giant, Goliath. Then comes Solomon in all his glory, who built that most famous of all edifices, the renowned Temple at Jerusalem. Then, with the swiftness of the whirlwind, the Prophet Elijah appears The A-oung people behold one of the most striking figures in history. They follow this mysterious prophet to the brook Cherith, and the poor widow's home at Sarepta, and behold the chariot of flame which bears him through the open heaven beyond mortal sight. They see the sweet face of the little Jewish captive in Syria, who sent Naaman to the prophet Elisha that he might be healed of his leprosy. This wonderful part of the history of God's chosen people sounds fresh and new from the pages of this delight- ful and very instructive volume. There are also many tragic stories con- nected with the later kings among the Hebrews. These make a deep impression upon the youthful heart, and teach the most important lessons. The Babe of Bethlehem now appears upon the scene, and his capti- vating story is no less interesting than the incidents and events already related. We hear the angels singing ; we see the adoring shepherds ; we are present at the visit of the wise men ; and we step into the Temple where Jesus disputes with the Jewish doctors. We listen to his wonderful parables, behold his amazing miracles, his awe-inspiring Crucifixion and triumphant Ascension. The Story of the Apostles completes this most cap- tivating volume, the beauty and charm of which are apparent on every page. This is such a volume as all parents should put into the hands of their children. Youth is the forming period of the whole life ; it is the wax in the mould, and impressions then made are not easily effaced. This delightful work renders the Bible a new book, full of the grandest thoughts, the most inspiring truths, the noblest examples, and those beautiful moral precepts wh ; ch lie at the foundation of all success in life. The question how to interest the young in the Bible is solved, for they find such attractions in this volume that they read it eagerly. It is not a work to be glanced at and then thrown aside ; but it is a companion in the home, and is found to contain fresh charms every time it is perused. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE ADAM AND EVE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN 18 THE TEMPTATION IN THE GARDEN 21 ADAM AND EVE DRIVEN FROM PARADISE 23 THE MURDER OF ABEL 25 NOAH AND HIS FAMILY ENTERING THE ARK 28 THE FLOOD DESTROYING THE EARTH 29 NOAH OFFERING SACRIFICE 30 THE TOWER OF BABEL 32 ABRAHAM DEPARTING FROM HARAN 34 THE SEPARATION OF ABRAM AND LOT 35 MELCHIZEDEK SETTING BREAD AND WINE BEFORE ABRAHAM AND LOT 37 ABRAHAM ENTERTAINING THE THREE ANGELS 39 THE ANGELS WARNING LOT TO FLEE FROM SODOM 40 ABRAHAM OFFERING UP ISAAC 41 ABRAHAM SENDING AWAY HAGAR AND ISHMAEL 42 ABIMELECH RESTORING SARAH TO ABRAHAM 43 ABRAHAM'S SERVANT AND REBEKAH AT THE WELL 44 REBEKAH RECEIVING PRESENTS FROM ABRAHAM'S SERVANT 45 ESAU SELLING HIS BIRTHRIGHT FOR POTTAGE 48 TACOB OBTAINING THE BLESSING FROM ISAAC 53 JACOB'S VISION OF THE ANGELS 55 JACOB AT THE WELL OF HARAN 57 LABAN OVERTAKING JACOB 60 JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL 62 MEETING OF JACOB AND ESAU . « 64 MASSACRE OF THE SHECHEMITES 65 JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN 70 JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH'S DREAMS 74 JACOB'S SONS IMPRISONED BY JOSEPH AS SPIES 78 JOSEPH BECOMING KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN 80 JACOB BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH 81 THE FINDING OF MOSES . ■ . 84 7 8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. pag a MOSES DEFENDING THE DAUGHTERS OF JETHRO . . . . : 86 MOSES AT THE BURNING BUSH ( 87 THE ROD OF AARON CHANGED INTO A SERPENT 89 THE WATERS OF EGYPT CHANGED TO BLOOD 90 THE PLAGUE OF FROGS 91 THE PLAGUE OF LICE 93 THE PLAGUE OF FLIES 94 THE PLAGUE OF MURRAIN 95 THE PLAGUE OF BOILS AND BLAINS 96 THE PLAGUE OF HAIL 97 THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS 98 DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN OF EGYPT 100 THE FIRST PASSOVER 101 THE ISRAELITES DEPARTING FROM EGYPT 102 PHARAOH'S HOST OVERWHELMED IN THE SEA 103 THE ISRAELITES GATHERING MANNA 106 VICTORY OF THE ISRAELITES OVER AMALEK 108 WORSHIPPING THE GOLDEN CALF Ill MOSES AND THE TABLES OF THE LAW 113 THE LAYER OF BRASS 114 THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK 116 THE CONSECRATION OF AARON ' = 117 AARON OFFERING SACRIFICES 119 THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES 129 THE SONS OF AARON CONSUMED BY FIRE 121 THE SCAPE-GOAT 123 RETURN OF THE SPIES FROM CANAAN 125 PUNISHMENT OF THE SABBATH-BREAKER . 127 THE BUDDING OF AARON'S ROD 129 MOSES SMITING THE ROCK 130 THE DEATH OF AARON „ „ 131 THE BRAZEN SERPENT 132 BALAAM MEETING THE ANGEL 135 THE DEATH OF MOSES 137 OFFERINGS FOR THE PURIFICATION OF WOMEN 138 PURIFICATION FOR LEPROSY 139 SENDING THE LEPER OUTSIDE THE CAMP 149 THE JEALOUSY OFFERING 1 tl ESCAPE OF THE SPIES H4 EASTER MORNING — MARY AND THE RISEN LORD LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 9 PAGE RAHAB SAVED AND ALL HER POSSESSIONS 145 THE ARK PASSING OVER JORDAN 147 THE ANGEL APPEARING TO JOSHUA 148 THE DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO 149 JOSHUA COMMANDING THE SUN TO STAND STILL 150 SISERA SLAIN BY JAEL 152 CALEB GIVING HIS DAUGHTER TO OTHNIEL 153 GIDEON OFFERING SACRIFICE 154 GIDEON AND HIS FLEECE 155 GIDEON AND HIS LITTLE ARMY 156 GIDEON DEFEATING THE MIDIANITES 157 JEPHTHAH MEETING HIS DAUGHTER J. . . 159 MANOAH OFFERING SACRIFICE 160 SAMSON SLAYING A LION 161 SAMSON SLAYING THE PHILISTINES 163 CUTTING OFF SAMSON'S LOCKS . . 165 SAMSON DESTROYING THE TEMPLE 166 BENJAMITES TAKING WIVES FROM SHILOH . 167 NAOMI RETURNING TO BETHLEHEM 169 RUTH GLEANING IN THE FIELD OF BOAZ 170 BOAZ BUYING THE PARCEL OF LAND 171 HANNAH BRINGING SAMUEL TO ELI 173 THE PHILISTINES TAKING AWAY THE ARK 176 THE DEATH OF ELI 177 DESTRUCTION OF THE IDOL OF DAGON „ . 178 SAUL ANOINTED BY SAMUEL 182 JONATHAN SMITING THE PHILISTINES 183 THE LOT FALLS UPON JONATHAN 185 THE DEATH OF AGAG 186 GOLIATH SLAIN BY DAVID 189 SAUL ATTEMPTING TO KILL DAVID 190 ABIGAIL BRINGING PRESENTS TO DAVID 191 SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR 193 ABNER SLAIN BY JOAB 195 ISH-BOSHETH SLAIN BY HIS SERVANTS 196 DAVID DANCING BEFORE THE ARK 198 NATHAN REPROVING DAVID FOR HIS SIN 199 ABSALOM CAUSES AMNON TO BE SLAIN 201 DAVID STONED BY SHIMEI 203 10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE THE DEATH OF ABSALOM 204 CESSATION OF THE PLAGUE 206 SOLOMON ASKS WISDOM FROM GOD .- 208 THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON 209 THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITING SOLOMON 212 IDOLATRY OF SOLOMON AND HIS WIVES 214 REHOBOAM REFUSING TO REMIT TAXES 215 DESTRUCTION OF THE ALTAR FORETOLD 217 THE PROPHET SLAIN BY A LION 219 HANANI IMPRISONED FOR REBUKING ASA 221 ELIJAH'S PROPHECY AGAINST AHAB 222 AHAB ACCUSED OF NABOTH'S DEATH 224 JEZEBEL EATEN BY DOGS 225 MICAIAH PROPHESYING AGAINST AHAB 227 JEHOSHAPHAT'S PRAYER FOR HIS PEOPLE 229 JEHOSHAPHAT'S VICTORY 231 THE TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH 232 ELISHA MULTIPLYING THE POOR WIDOW'S OIL 234 ELISHA RESTORING THE SHUNAMMITE'S CHILD 236 NAAMAN CURED OF HIS LEPROSY 238 THE SYRIANS SMITTEN WITH BLINDNESS 240 THE UNBELIEVER TRODDEN TO DEATH 242 JEHU ANOINTED KING OF ISRAEL 243 ATHALIAH PUT TO DEATH 246 JOASH COLLECTING MONEY FOR THE TEMPLE 247 REPAIRING THE TEMPLE 248 ELISHA'S BODY RESTORING A MAN TO LIFE 250 THE MURDER OF ZECHARIAH 251 UZZIAH SMITTEN WITH LEPROSY 253 ODED INTERCEDING FOR THE CAPTIVES 255 IDOLS DESTROYED BY HEZEKIAH 256 AN ANGEL DESTROYS SENNACHERIB'S HOST 259 ISAIAH PROPHESYING HEZEKIAH'S RECOVERY 261 CAPTIVITY AND REPENTANCE OF MANASSEH 264 JOSIAH CONSULTS THE PROPHETESS HULDAH 266 DEATH OF KING JOSIAH 268 DANIEL'S ACCUSERS THROWN TO THE LIONS 270 THE JEWS PREPARING TO RETURN 272 EZRA OBTAINING HIS COMMISSION 273 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 21- MSB THE HEATHEN WIVES SENT AWAY 275 NEHEMIAH INSPECTING THE RUINS 277 REBUILDING THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM , 279- BRINGING FORTH THE LAW 281 THE READING OF THE LAW 282 NEHEMIAH PUNISHING EVIL-DOERS 284 DESTRUCTION OF THE FLOCKS OF JOB 287 THE HAPPY DAYS OF JOB 290 THE HOLY FAMILY 294 CHRISTMAS— THE SHEPHERDS AND THE MANGER 296 THE CHILD JESUS IN EGYPT 2:8 NAZARETH > 302 HISTORIC PLACES NEAR JERUSALEM 306 A STREET SCENE IN JERUSALEM 312 JESUS AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA 316 THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT 319 CHRIST AT GADARA 322 LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER , . 826 CHRIST SAVES PETER FROM SINKING 33C "I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE" .331 FROM JAFFA TO JERUSALEM BY RAILROAD 334 JESUS AND THE SISTERS OF BETHANY 337 THE SHEPHERD— I SHALL NOT WANT 339' "LAZARUS, COME FORTH" 341 CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN 343 CHRIST ENTERING INTO JERUSALEM 345. THE WIDOW GIVING HER MITES 347 "SIR, WE WOULD SEE JESUS" 34S CHRIST WASHING HIS DISCIPLES' FEET 349 CHRIST IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE , &>1 THE TAKING OF CHRIST 352 CHRIST BEFORE PILATE 356 JUDAS WENT OUT AND HANGED HIMSELF 359 CHRIST LEAVING FOR GOLGOTHA 360 THE WOMEN AT THE CROSS 364 WHILE THEY COMMUNED TOGETHER JESUS HIMSELF DREW NEAR 367 CHRIST'S ASCENSION 363 ANANIAS RESTORING PAUL'S SIGHT 38S PAUL AND THE PHILIPPIAN JAILOR ,.395 12 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE PAUL TAKING LEAVE OF THE ELDERS OF EPHESUS 401 PAUL IN PRISON 403 PAUL BEFORE FELIX AND DRUSILLA - 406 PAUL SHIPWRECKED 409 PAUL KEEPS THE SAILORS ON BOARD THE SHIP 411 FULL PAGE PHOTOTYPE ENGRAVINGS IN COLORS. JOSEPH CAST INTO THE PIT THE FINDING OF MOSES THE BRINGING UP OF THE ARK THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITING SOLOMON VISIT OF THE WISE MEN , . . . CHRIST IN THE TEMPLE DISPUTING WITH THE DOCTORS CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN EASTER MORNING— MARY AND THE RISEN LORD FULL PAGE PHOTOTYPE ILLUSTRATIONS. ISAAC WELCOMING REBEKAH JACOB'S VISION OF THE ANGELS JACOB MOURNING THE LOSS OF JOSEPH JACOB MEETING JOSEPH IN EGYPT MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS MOSES BRINGING WATER FROM THE ROCK RUTH GLEANING IN THE FIELDS OF BOAZ THE SCRIBES READING THE CHRONICLES TO AHASUERUS CHRIST AND HIS MOTHER RETURNING FROM JERUSALEM CHRIST RAISING THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAIN . THE PARABLE OF THE LILIES CHRIST BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN MINISTERING TO CHRIST'S AGONY JUDAS BETRAYING CHRIST WITH A KISS "CHRIST HAS RISEN" DORCAS GIVING ALMS o » THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. ONCE there was no world such as we see now with its lakes and oceans, its mountains and valleys, its cities and villages, its men, women and children. The first words of the Bible are — "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth;" so we see that the earth we live on and the heaven, with the sun, the moon, and the millions of stars, were all created by God, who made also all the animals, from the smallest • insect to the large lion and elephant, the birds which are so beau- tiful in their colors, and the fishes which live in the sea. The history of the creation is given in the first book of the Bible, "Genesis," which means, in Greek, "the beginning." In this history we may read how God made the earth and sea, the sun and moon, and the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, who were placed in the garden of Eden, but who, disobeying the commands of God, and so bringing sin into the world, were punished by being driven out of the garden, and made to earn their bread by hard labor, their sorrow being made greater by the wickedness of their son Cain. It was more than six thousand years ago that God created the earth, and at first it was .without regular form; earth and water were mingled; nothing grew on the surface; there were no trees or flowers, and no living creatures. All was darkness ; there was neither night nor day, neither summer nor winter ; no firm land, no sea, no stars or moon, no sound to break the silence. Then " the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," and the power of God was felt. He can do all things that seem good to him, and he made light to appear. The fourth verse of the first chapter of Genesis says, " God saw the light that it was good." And what a change 2 17 18 THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. it must have made! The sun and moon were not made at first, but there was a bright light which shone for a time, and then again came darkness, for God divided the light from the darkness, calling the light day, and the darkness night. And that great act of God's power marked the first of the six days of creation. When that first night had passed away, and there was again light on the face of the earth, God made the "firmament," that is the heaven, the word meaning; fixed and immovable, and divided the waters which were above, the moist clouds, from the waters which were below. So there was a sky above with the many forms and colors of passing clouds on the clear blue. What a wonderful change in the ap- pearance of the world must have taken place ! but as yet there were no living beings to see and admire > or to worship the Creator. Then night came again, and the work of the second day of creation was done. But there was much more to be done before the work of creation was com- ADAM AND EVE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. pleted There was nQW day and night, but there was no separation of land from water. On the third day, the vapors and mists having been lifted up on high, the waters were collected together, and the great seas were formed, into which flowed rivers, rising from springs which joined their waters, and so made wide and flowing streams. As the waters were thus collected THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 19 together, the earth was left dry. Mountains and hills, the tops of which were almost hidden in the clouds, appeared, and rocks against which beat the great waves of the newly-created sea. But the hills and valleys were bare ; no grass or flowering plants were there, no forests, none of the beautiful blossoms which now we see. Then God completed the work he had begun. The same power which made the waves of the sea, which made the rivers flow through the valleys, and the earth to stand dry in the midst of the waters, bade grass to grow, flowers to bloom, sweet fruit to ripen, and lofty trees to cover the hills and make the valleys green. In three days the earth, which was at first dark and "without form and void," had been shone upon by a great light — the sky had been created, seas and rivers made, grass grown, herbs had appeared and cast seed upon the ground for new growths, and fruit, "whose seed was in itself" — stone fruit and fruit of the apple and orange kind — was there. What a change ! and a change which God, who made it- saw "was good." And with that instance of Divine power and wisdom the third day's work was ended. On the fourth day the sun and moon were created, " two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night." The stars, also, were made to give light upon the earth. If we read this story of the fourth day's work carefully, as we should do, we shall notice that these great lights were not only to give light to the earth, but to prepare it for a new creation. The light of the first day was divided from the darkness, and when night came there was no light ; but now there was a lesser light of the moon and the stars to shine, so that the night was not quite dark. And God showed that there were to be other uses for these greater and lesser lights, which there would not have been if he had not made living creatures on the earth. The lights in the heavens were to be " for signs and for seasons, and for days and for years ; " that is, they were to be at all times signs of his power; their changes were to make seasons — spring, summer, autumn and winter — each to be a blessing; and the rising and setting of the sun, the changes of the moon and the return of the seasons would enable an account of time to be kept — were, as the Bible tells us, in the Book of Genesis, " for days and for years." The fifth day was a very wonderful day. Sun and moon and stars had been made, the waters had been divided from the land, and on the 20 THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. laud were grass and trees and fruit. Now the time had come for the crea- tion of animal life ; fishes were in the rivers, and birds flew about in the air; great whales swam in the ocean, and God bade the numbers of all that were in the sea to increase, and " fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply on the earth." That was the fifth day's work, but as yet there were no animals on the land ; the sea and the air were full of living creatures, some very large, and some very small, but the earth had none. But on the next, the sixth day, God made animals to live on the drv land ; all those large creatures which are so wonderful ; the cattle which feed in the fields, and many small animals and insects described in the Bible as "everything that creepeth upon the earth." Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our like- ness," and created Adam, more perfect than anything which had been made before, and having what none of the beasts of the fields or creeping things had — the gift of reason — for God "breathed into him the breath of life and he became a living soul." Man was fitted to rule over all that had been made, and God gave him power over all, and brought them to him ; and he named the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air. Although there were so many animals of every kind, Adam him- self had no companion, but God completed the work, and made the first woman, Hve, to be a " helpmeet ; " that is, a wife to be always with him, to love him, and be loved better than anything else in the world. Then God blessed them, and " saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good." What a world that must have been when the all-wise God could say it was " very good ! " There was no sin, no pain, nothing but peace and happy creatures. So ended the six days of creation ; and then God, who had made such a beautiful world, rested on the next, the seventh day, and blessed it, and it has been blessed ever since, a day of rest and worship, when the weary find rest, and good men throughout the world praise and worship the God who made them and governs them by his wisdom, and good children raise their sweet voices in hymns of praise. The place where man was made was named Eden, and in one part of it was a garden, a beautiful place where grew flowers and trees, which bore fruit fit for the food of man. Through the garden flowed a fine river, which divided into four branches, to each of which the Bible has given a name, one of which, Euphrates, is still borne by one of the THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 21 great rivers of Asia, so that, although the Garden of Eden is no more, we can very nearly say whereabouts it was. It was near the country after- wards occupied by the Assyrians, that great and warlike people, who fought against the Jews, and about whom we may read so much in the Bible. God did not intend Adam and Eve to be idle, for he knows that work is necessary to happiness. He told Adam to work in the garden, to keep it in order, and to attend to the growth of the herbs and fruits that gave him food. There were - in the garden two trees which were not like the others, and to which were given the names of the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. That Tree of Know- ledge Adam and Eve were told not to touch. All the other trees in the garden were theirs, but that one alone they must not touch nor eat of, " lest ye die." That must have seemed very terrible to Adam and Eve, although, perhaps, they did not quite know what death meant, for as yet there was nothing in the world but happy life, and the death of anything was unknown. But no doubt the}^ knew that God would be very angry if they did not obey him, and that his anger would make them very unhappy. For a short time they were obedient and happy. Adam worked in the garden, and Eve helped him, and they enjoyed the sweet fruits for food. THE TEMPTATION IN THE GARDEN. 22 THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. Among the living things in the garden was a serpent, which, we are told in the Bible, was " more subtle (that is, cunning) than any beast of the field," and it was able to speak. None of the other animals which had been created could do that. But this serpent was really an evil spirit, the same which in other parts of Scripture is named Satan, and he was able to take the form of a serpent, and so to crawl near Eve and whisper to her. He asked her if she had really been told not to eat of the fruit of one tree, and when she replied that Adam and she would surely die if they did not obey the command not to eat of this one tree, the serpent told her that was not true, and that God had only told them not to eat because he knew that if they did they would be as wise as he was. The woman believed the serpent; the tree was loaded with nice fruit, " it was pleasant to the eye, and a tree to be desired to make one wise." She was not satisfied with being good, and wished to be as wise as God himself. She allowed Satan to persuade her, and tasted the fruit ; and Adam, who saw what she had done, forgot the command he had received and the punishment which he had been told would follow disobe- dience, and he also ate of the forbidden fruit. Directly they had eaten, they were changed creatures; no longer good, but feeling ashamed of themselves. They knew the Lord God was near, and for the first time they felt afraid to see him. They heard his voice calling, "Adam, where art thou?" Adam answered, "I was afraid, and hid myself." God knew that he had been disobeyed; and asked them if they had eaten of the tree he had told them not to touch. Adam tried to excuse himself by saying that Bve gave him the fruit, and she could only say, ashamed and afraid as she was, that the ser- pent had tempted her. Then God laid a curse upon the serpent, and said there should be enmity between it and the woman, and between her children and the offspring of the serpent, but that, in the course of time, the serpent's head should be bruised, which means that Jesus Christ should come to conquer Satan, and save from him all those who believed in the Saviour. Adam and Eve were told that sorrow and pain would be theirs all the days of their life; that they must live by hard work; that they would die, and would return to the dust whence they came. Adam and Eve were driven from the garden in which they had been placed, and at the entrance of Eden stood great angels with swords of fire, so that the wicked Adam and Eve could return no more. They had lost the THE CREATION AND THE GARDEN OF EDEN. 23 right to dwell in the beautiful garden, to eat the fruit and be happy and good; they had brought sin into the world, and, with sin, pain and shame. How sorry they must have been that they had so displeased God, and listened to the wicked advice of the serpent, instead of obeying the com- mands which the Lord himself had given ! They had not known what death was, but they were soon to know it in its most terrible form. They had seen the trees and flowers in the garden full of leaves and blossoms, but they had not seen them die; they had seen the animals which Adam had named full of life, but they had not seen them lying dead. We may read in the New Testament that "the first Adam brought death into the world," and it was the sin of Adam and Eve which did so. They must have worked hard to get food and clothing; they must have known what pain was, and must often have thought of the happy state in which they once were, and turned their eyes toward the garden of the adam and eve driven fro:.i paradise. Lord. But the angels were there with the flaming sword that turned every way. And never again will man see the beautiful garden of Eden. But those who have faith in the Saviour will, after death, go to a heavenly Paradise, where they shall see God, and Christ whom he hath sent. THE MURDER OF ABEL. ADAM and Eve had two sons ; the eldest was named Cain, and his brother, Abel. As they grew up, Cain helped his father to dig the ground, and Abel kept sheep. Although Adam and Eve had offended God and had been driven from Paradise, they had not, we may suppose, forgotten him, and had trained up their sons to worship him. When Cain and Abel grew up they each made an offering to the Lord. Cain brought fruits such as he had been taught to look after, and Abel brought lambs. No doubt Cain did not really worship God, and was not sincere in his offering, while Abel did love and fear God, and desired to please him ; for the Lord would not accept the sacrifice which Cain m^de, but was pleased with the offering of Abel. Cain was very angry when he saw this, and his face showed how angry he was. This was a proof that he was not in a fit state of mind to worship God properly, for we should be meek and gentle, if we may hope that God will hear our prayers or accept our praises. God saw how vexed and angry Cain was, and reasoned with him, "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted ? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at thy door." But Cain would not listen to reason, even when the Lord spoke, but was angry with his brother because he had found more favor; and at last, giving way to his rage, struck him so that he fell dead at his feet. That was the first death of a man that had been known in the world, and the first death was a murder; not a quiet death, such, as good men meet, with prayer on their lips, and loving friends around, but a sudden, violent death, and the only one near to see the dying youth give up his breath was his own brother, who ought to have loved and' taken care of him, but who, in a fit of anger, had struck the blow that killed him. It was all owing to a sudden outburst of passion. Cain did not con- trol his violent temper, but gave way to it in a thoughtless moment and committed the greatest of all crimes. People who give way to wild outbursts of temper are sure to get into trouble, and do things that they regret in their calmer moments. Cain, we dare say, was filled with horror when he saw his brother lying dead at his feet ; but he was sullen, and, instead of asking forgive- ness for what he had done, tried to hide the deed, even from the Lord, 24 THE MURDER OF ABEL. 25 who sees every thing and knows every thought. God spake, and how awful his voice must have sounded in Cain's ear! He said, "Where is Abel, thy brother?" Cain said, "I know not," and added to such a shocking falsehood the wicked question, " Am I my brother's keeper ? " He was partly his brother's keeper, for he was the elder, and no doubt Adam and Eve trusted him to protect with his greater strength the darling and gentle Abel. God, however, was not to be deceived, and replied : " What hast thou done .? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath open- ed her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand ; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not hence- forth yield unto thee her strength ; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth." God did not say that Cain should at once starve, that the earth should not give some fruit for his food, but that it should not yield " her strength," only give THE MURDER OF ABEL, him a little fruit, so that he should never have much, but be always poor and a wanderer from place to place. Cain knew what a punishment this was ; he had no hope to cheer him, nothing but the thought that for the rest of his life he should be homeless and wretched, and that he himself might meet as violent and sudden a death as his brother did. " My pun- 26 THE MURDER OF ABEL. ishnient," he said, " is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth." And then he knew that he had lost the favor o£ God, that favor of which, perhaps, he had heard his father and mother speak when telling their children of the happy time when they were in Hden, and which he had himself felt when peacefully tilling the ground, and seeing how happy the world around him was. With tears, perhaps, he said : " And from thy face shall I be hid." His happy life had passed away, his peace of mind had been for ever lost by his great crime, and, worse than all, he would never again see the face of his Lord and Maker. But he need not have been afraid of being killed. None would kill him, for God set a mark upon him, that he might be known, and threatened vengeance on any who should slay him. After Abel's death and Cain's banishment, Adam and Eve had another son, whom they named Seth. Eve hoped that he would grow up like the good Abel whom Cain had killed. She believed that this son was the gift of God, to take the place of the dear child she had lost, and said : u God hath appointed me another son instead of Abel," for neither Adam nor Eve forgot the Lord and his goodness, and they believed that he still watched over them as a Father, although they had sinned so greatly. When Seth had lived many years he had a son named Enos, and l>y that time, for Seth was a hundred and five years old when Enos was born, there were, no doubt, many men and women in the world, for, perhaps, Adam had other sons and daughters ; and we read in the Bible that about the time of the birth of Enos, men began to call upon the name of the Lord. Adam himself lived to the great age of nine hundred and thirty years, and, we may believe, told his children and grandchildren, and their children, too, how he and Eve had lived in Eden, but had been driven out, and warned them against giving way to sin, and forgetting God. Cain wandered into the land of Nod, to the east of the place where he had lived before the murder, and in the course of time — for men lived to a great age in the early days of the world — others came there, most likely the children of Seth, and Cain took a wife, and had a son whom he called Enoch, and built a city which he named after him. Cain had many grandchildren and great-grandchildren : among them Jubal, who invented music and musical instruments ; Tubal Cain, who worked in metals, made tools of iron and brass ; and Jabal, who gathered together flocks and herds, led, perhaps, a wandering life, and, as the Bible NOAH AND THE FLOOD. 27 expresses it, " was the father of all such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle." We have just said that men then lived to a very great age, and the oldest man ever known was Methusaleh, who was the great-grandson of Enoch (not the son of Cain, but one of the descendants of Seth), and is said to have lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years. This Enoch was a good man, and the Bible says he "walked with God," and it is added "he was not ; for God took him." This, we are told in the New Testament, meant that Enoch did not die as other men did, but was taken to Heaven while yet alive. But "the children and grandchildren of Enoch, it is to be feared, forgot what a good man he was, for by the time his great-grandson Noah had grown up " the wickedness of man was great on the earth." " There were giants on the earth in those days," strong men who were " men of renown," that is, famous for their power and courage, but they were violent and wicked, had bad thoughts in their hearts, and forgot the Lord in whom their fathers had believed. God, we are told, repented that he had made man ; all the people were so wicked he determined to destroy them, and not only them, but the animals that he had made, " man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air." NOAH AND THE FLOOD. THERE was one man who still loved God, and was a just man. That was Noah, and the Lord willed to save him and his family, and for his sake to save also two of every kind of living thing. God had determined to send a great flood upon the earth, and he told Noah to make a large ark, or covered ship, which would hold all that he would save. Noah was taught how to build the ark. It was to be made of wood, there were to be rooms in it, and it was to be covered inside and outside with pitch. It must have been a very large ship, for it had three stories, and a window and a door in the side. It was the first ship that had ever been made, for the people in those days had, perhaps, scarcely seen the sea, or if they had seen it, would have been afraid, strong and bold as they were, to venture upon it, for they did not know how to build a boat to float safely, much more a ship large enough to hold a great number of persons. 28 NOAH AND THE FLOOD. They must have wondered what Noah and his sons were making, and, perhaps, laughed at him ; for if he told them that a great flood was coming which should cover the earth and destroy all living things except such as God had chosen to save, they were so unbelieving and wicked, and had so forgotten what they might have been told of the power of God, that they would not think Noah was speak- ing the truth. But Noah trusted in the Lord ; he knew that he was faithful to his promise, and went on working until the great ship, or ark, grew into shape, and was finish- ed : then, still obeying the command of God, Noah took a pair of every living thing, and enough food for them and himself and fam- ily, and when all was ready, he placed the beasts and birds and creeping things in the ark ; and he and his wife, and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japlieth, and their wives, went, too, into the ark, and waited for the flood which they knew the Lord would send. He did send it. The Bible words are very strik- NOAH AND HIS FAMILY ENTERING THE ARK. ing, " all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened, and the rain was upon the earth." You have, no doubt, seen heavy rain come down suddenly, pouring from the sky, and may have seen small streams quickly become like great rivers, as if all at once new springs of water had broken forth. If so, you will' be able to under- NOAH AND THE FLOOD. 29 stand the force and meaning of the words of the Bible and realize the fear- ful nature of the flood which overwhelmed the earth. But never since has there been such rain known as that which then fell upon the earth. Very heavy rain, even in the countries where there is most rain, seldom lasts above a few hours, and although we have wet sea- sons, some rain perhaps every day for a month or even more, yet the rain sometimes ceases, and some- times comes down gently. But Noah saw from the ark the rain coming down like a great torrent for forty days and forty nights. It did not slacken or stop. At first the little streams and great rivers rose and covered the fields. Then the waters rose higher and higher, drowning the cattle and wild animals which fled into caves. Men and women, trembling with fright, and knowing now how great was the power of the Lord whom they had for- gotten, and how truly Noah had spoken when he told them why the ark was built, climbed the hills for safety. THE FLOOD DESTROYING THE EARTH. But still the waters rose higher and higher. The valleys became one great sea; the smaller hills were covered. People who were too weak to climb were swept away by the great rush of waters, and others sought safety on the lofty mountains. But the rain poured down the sides of the highest hills, and men and women were carried away to death bv the force of the waters. 30 NOAH AND THE FLOOD. Then came the time when the mountain-tops were covered, and there was nothing but a great raging sea. The towns which the mighty men had built, all the work which they had done, were hidden beneath the waters; but the ark floated safely, for it was upheld by the power of the Lord, and in it was all that was left of the life which had been upon the earth. For a hundred and fifty days the waters were at their height, but Noah and those with him were safe, and then the flood abated, and the ark rested on the mountain of Ararat. After forty days Noah let a raven fly, and then a dove, but the dove could find no resting-place and so came back, but after seven days more was sent out again and then brought an olive leaf in its mouth, so that Noah knew that the waters had abated. After waiting seven days he let the dove fly again, and it did not come back. Noah then knew that there must be dry land, and, removing the covering of the ark, he looked out, NOAH OFFERING SACRIFICE. and once again saw the earth. The Lord had sent a great wind which drove the w r aters back, and soon dried the land. Then he told Noah to leave the ark, with his wife and sons and their wives, and all the living things that were with him. That is the wonderful story of the flood as told in the Bible ; and not long ago a clever traveller dug up some records, engraved on baked NOAH AND THE FLOOD. 31 clay, from ruins where they had been hidden for thousands of years, which told nearly the same story. When Noah was once again on the earth he built an altar, and thanked God for his mercy, and God promised that the world should never again be destroyed by a flood, and that the rainbow in the clouds should be a witness of this promise forever. The Lord said he would never again destroy every living thing, but that so long as the earth remained the seasons should come in regular order; there should be seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night. And we may see how he has kept his promise ever since. Every year the leaves come upon the trees at the same time, the grass grows, the corn ripens and is ready for reaping, winter and summer come every year, every day the sun gives us light, and every night darkness comes.. God never fails, but what he promises that he performs. Whenever we see the rainbow in the clouds — and we may very often see it after a heavy storm of rain — we should remember how once God destroyed the wicked people of the world, all but a few righteous men and their families, and how he preserved them because Noah believed in him, and. did as he was commanded. Let us remember, too, that God promised. Noah, and, through him, promised us, that he would not again destroy- the world with a flood of water. The great flood, the story of which we have just read, was sent several thousand years ago, but not a year has passed since without the bow, with all its beautiful colors, being seen in the clouds, to remind us of God's; power and goodness. God blessed Noah and his sons, and told them that he gave thern. power over beasts, birds and fishes — that "every moving thing that liveth" would be food for them. He commanded them, too, that they must take- care of each other. Noah, no doubt, had told his children the shocking- story of the murder of Abel by his brother Cain ; and now the Lord again warned them against the sin of murder, saying, " Whoso sheddeth man's, blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made he man." But even Noah, who had been so good before the flood, fell into sin afterwards. Like Adam, he kept a garden, and he also grew vines, from which he made wine, and foolishly and wickedly drank of it too freely, and committed the sin of drunkenness. His son Ham saw him in a helpless state in a drunken sleep, and made a mock of him ; and for this Noah, when he awoke, cursed Ham and his son Canaan,, who had,, 32 THE TOWER OF BABEL. perhaps, mocked him too, and, while he blessed Shem and Japheth, said the others should be the servants of their brethren. Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood, and was nine hundred and fifty years old when he died. His three sons, Shem, Japheth and Ham, had many children, who spread abroad over the earth, and founded many nations in various places THE TOWER OF BABEL. THE TOWER OF BABEL. IT was about a hundred years after the flood, when men began to build the city and tower of Babel. They meant to make a very large place, and build a very high tower. I cannot be quite sure why they built them — the Bible does not exactly say. Some people think that the tower was built for the worship of the sun and the stars of heaven, as men had already begun again to turn from worshiping God only. Others think that men built this big place so that they might all live together. But God had said that different families were to spread abroad, so that the earth might be full of people. Whatever their reason was, God was not pleased with them, and he would not let them go on with the building. ABRAHAM AND LOT. 33 I will tell you how lie stopped them. Up to this time every person in the world spoke the same language, so that they could all understand one another. Now, God made them speak in different tongues, so that they could not make out what the other said. If you were to go to India you could not understand the talk of Hindu children, nor can they understand English, unless they have been taught it. So these people began to call the same thing by different names, and they could not possibly tell what a man wanted when he asked for it. Perhaps one would ask for a hammer, and his companion would bring him a brush ; perhaps he would ask for mortar, and he would bring him a brick. Of course they could not go on building the city, so they left off, and called it Babel, which means confusion. " Because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth." They then separated into com- panies : those that spoke all alike kept together. They then went abroad to different parts of the earth, as God had before told them to do. Thus the very means they used to keep together were the means God took to scatter them abroad, and spread them over the earth. ABRAHAM AND LOT. SHEM, the eldest son of Noah, was not one of those who were driven out of the land after the Tower of Babel had been built. He had children and grandchildren, and many years afterwards there was one of his race named Terah, who had three sons, named Abram, Nahor and Haran. Harau died young, and left one son, Lot, but the other brothers lived after their father's death. Abram married Sarai, and Nahor married Milcah. Abram had no children and stayed with his father, Terah, who took him and his wife, and Lot, the grandson of Terah and nephew of Abram, away from the land of Ur, where they had lived so long, intending to go into the land of Canaan, which perhaps he had heard of as being a very fine and fruitful country, where their flocks and herds could find plenty of food ; for in those days people did not live in houses and towns, but in tents, and moved about from place to place. But they did not get farthe* than Haran, which, perhaps, Terah named after his dead son, and there he stayed until he died. But God wished Abram to live in Canaan, and told him to leave Haran ; he did so, taking with him his wife Sarai, and his brother's son, 3 34 ABRAHAM AND LOT. Lot, and his servants and all his riches. God promised him that from his family would spring a great nation, and that he should be a blessing to the world. God also promised that he would bless all that blessed Abram, and curse all that cursed him. Abram passed through the land as far as the Plain of Sichem and Moreh, and was told by the Lord that all that fair land should be his. God showed himself to Abram, who built an altar on the spot, and another on a mountain near Bethel, where he lived in a large tent. But although Abram was rich, and had been promised that all the land should be his, he was not without trouble. The peo- ple of the country, the Ca- naanites, were fierce and bold, and there came a fam- ine, so that Abram could not get enough food for himself and those who were with him. He knew that Egypt was a rich and fertile country, and he made up his mind to go there, and take with him his wife and family. He was not then so good a man as after- wards he was, but was timid, and forgot how right it is always to speak the exact truth, whatever may be the result. He feared that some of the Egyptians might wish to marry Sarai, who was very handsome, and might kill him ; he told her, therefore, to say that she was his sister. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, saw Sarai and took her into his house, ABRAHAM DEPARTING FROM HARAN. ABRAHAM AND LOT. 35 and for her sake treated Abram, who he thought was her brother, very well. But the Lord was angry with Abram for telling a falsehood, anl with Pharaoh for taking Sarai away, and he sent plagues upon the house of the king, who at length came to know the truth, and he was glad to give her back to Abram, at the same time blaming him for his deceit. He did not take any of Abram's wealth, cattle, silver and gold, but let him, and all that were with him, go. Abram and his wife, and Lot, with his servants and cattle, then went back to Bethel, where he had raised an altar, and prayed to the Lord, no doubt, to forgive him the sin of having told an untruth. Lot was also rich, having flocks and herds, and many tents for his ser- vants to live in. But he and Abram found that they could not dwell together, for, says the Bible, "The land was not able to bear them," which means that there was not food enough at that place for all their servants and cattle ; and the men who took care of the THE separation OF abram and lot, flocks and herds quarrelled and fought among themselves. Abram was greatly pained at this strife, for he loved Lot, his brother's son, and told him they had better part, but Lot might stay there if he chose, and Abram would go away, or, if Lot would like better to go, he would remain. Lot knew what a fine land there was to the east, in the valley of 36 ABRAHAM AND LOT. the Jordan river, a laud like a garden, and he told Abrain he would go and live there. There were two cities there, on the border of a large lake, in the midst of this beautiful country, Sodoni and Gomorrah, and near them Lot dwelt. After Lot had gone away, the Lord told Abram that he would give him all the land, as far as he could see in every direction, for himself and for his children, for ever, and that his race should be so many that it would be as eas} r to count the grains of dust of the earth as to count them. Abram then removed his tent from Bethel, and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, in Hebron; and there, too, he set up an altar, and worshiped the God who had been so good to him. Lot, no doubt, thought he had found a very good place to live in when he reached the cities of the plain, Sodom and Gomorrah; but the people of those places were very wicked, and the kings of the two towns, and other kings near, were at war with the kings of Shinar, Elam, and other places ; and, after long fighting, there was a great battle in a place known as the vale of Siddim, and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were beaten, and fled, falling into pits of slime, or pitch, and those of the soldiers who were left alive hid themselves among the mountains. The other kings, who had gained the battle, then took away the riches of the two towns, and many of the chief people, and among them Lot, with all his wealth and his servants, intending to make them slaves. One of the men, however, escaped, and reached the place where Abram dwelt, and told him that Lot had been taken away, and was a captive Abram had many servants, all born in his house, and faithful to him, and he armed them and went in pursuit of the kings who had taken away his brother's son. He followed them as far as Hobah, which is near Damascus, and there he took from them Lot, with his people and his wealth, and guarded them back to Sodom, where he was met by the king of that place, and by the holy Melchizedek, king of Salem, who was, we are told in the Bible, "the priest of the most high God," and who blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram of the most high G~d, possessor of heaven and earth: and blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand." The king of Sodom wished Abrain to take, as a reward, all the wealth he had brought back ; but he refused, saying that he had vowed to God he would accept nothing for what he had done, so that the king might not be able to boast that he had made him rich; but he allowed the men who went with him to have a portion of the rewards the king had offered. TSAAP WELCOMING REBEKAH 3 a H ft O o o 3 ABRAHAM AND LOT. 37 But, with all his riches and power, Abram was not happy. He had no children, and he thought that when he died, his steward, or chief servant, Eliezer, would take his place. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, and reminded him how he had before taken care of him and given him all things that were good for him: "I am thy shield and thy exceeding great re- ward." He promised him that he should have a son, and that his race should be as numerous as the stars in heaven, which no man could count. God also told him that he should possess all t he land ; but that his des- cendants should be for four hundred years captives and servants in a strange land, but that they should re- turn with great riches. To Abram himself, it was prom- ised that he should live to a good old age, and die peacefulry. Abram made a sacrifice to the Lord, and saw by strange signs that the vision he had had was real. The land which- God promised to Abram and his children reached from the river of Egypt to the Eu- phrates, a vast country. Abram was nearly a hundred years old when God repeated the promise he had made that he should be the father of a great nation. All Scripture names have particular meanings, and Abram is formed of two Hebrew words meaning " high father." God now told him to change his MELCHIZEDEK SETTING BREAD AND WINE BEFORE ABRAHAM AND LOT. 38 ABRAHAM AND LOT. name to Abraham, which means "father of a great multitude;" for, said God, "a father of man}^ nations have I made thee." - Sarai's name, too, was changed to Sarah, which means " mistress," a title of honor, God saving, " I will bless her and she shall be a mother of nations." At first Abraham had not faith enough to believe the promise, for it seemed strange to him that Sarah and he should have any children now they were so old ; but God repeated the promise, adding that a son should be born whose name should be Isaac ; " he shall laugh,'' or " rejoice," showing the happiness he would bring to his parents. Perhaps some of vou have read a pretty little poem in which a dear baby is spoken of as " a smile of God ; " if so, you will understand how pleased Abraham and Sarah must have been to be told that they should have a son so named. We shall see that the promise was exactly kept, and when we read the history of the Jewish people in the other books of the Old Testament, we shall see how great they were, how many kings they had, and that Abraham was indeed the father of a great nation ; and, better still, in the New Testament we are told that the Lord Jesus Christ was of the race of Abraham, and that in him all the nations of the world are blessed. One fine summer day Abraham was sitting at the door of his tent, on the plain of Mamre, resting perhaps after labor, when he saw three men standing near him. In those times weary travellers could always make sure of having food and rest offered them when they reached a tent, and in that hot, dusty country washing the feet after a journey was very pleasant and refreshing. Water for that purpose was always offered as well as food; and Abraham, directly he saw the men, who he thought were tired and hungry travellers, went quickly to them, and, bowing low, asked them to rest in the shadow of the trees, eat some food which he would fetch, and wash their feet. While they rested, Sarah busied herself making a cake, and Abraham had a young calf killed, so that he might offer a good meal to the strangers. When the cake and meat were ready, they were, with butter and milk, set before the strangers, who ate, while Abraham, as the custom was, waited upon his guests. Abraham was so kind and hospitable because in those times it was the practice to be so, and if travellers had not been welcomed in that way by those who dwelt in the land, they might have died from hunger and thirst; but he did not at first know that his guests were angels, and that the Lord himself was speaking through them. When, however, they asked for Sarah, and the promise that she ABRAHAM AND LOT. 39 should have a son was repeated, Abraham knew that he was in the pres- ence of the Lord. Sarah did not know it, but when, hidden in the tent (for it was not the custom of Eastern women to show themselves much to strangers), she heard that before another year was over she should have a child, she laughed, but the Lord reproved her, and no doubt she was sorry after- wards that she had so very little faith. When they left the tent the strangers told Abra- ham that they were going to Sodom, and he offered to lead them on the way. As they were journeying, the Lord said he had de- termined to destroy that city because of the terrible wickedness of the people. The two angels who were with God left Abraham and went towards Sodom, and then Abraham, whose ne- phew, Lot, with his family, was in the wicked city, pleaded with the Lord for i J the righteous men who might be there. "If," was the ans- wer, "I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, I will spare all the place Abraham entertaining the three angels. for their sake." Abraham still prayed for the good men who might be there, even if not so many as fifty, and received the promise that if only ten were there the city should be spared. Abraham returned to his home, hoping, no doubt, that good men enough would be found in Sodom to save it ; but he did not know how 40 ABRAHAM AND LOT. very wicked the people were, for not even ten could be found ; and the two angels who had gone to the house of Lot, took him and his wife and two daughters, and led them out of the city, telling them to go to a small town a short distance off, where they would be safe. Then brimstone and fire were rained out of hea- ven upon Sodom and Go- morrah, which, with every living creature in them, were destroyed. Lot and his family were commanded not to look behind them when flying, but his wife disobeyed, and was imme- diately changed into a pil- lar ol salt. When, according to the promise, Isaac was born, his mother was full of joy, and said, referring to the name which had been given him, "God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.'' Isaac grew up a good child, and we may be sure was a great joy to his parents. So ten- derly, indeed, does he seem THE ANGELS WARNING LOT TO FLEE FROM SODOM. to have ^ een \ 0Ye( { Dy hi s father, that the Lord made him a means of trying Abraham's faith and obedience. The old father was told to take his little son to a mountain in the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a sacrifice. Abraham must have felt bitterly how hard it was to obey such, a command, but he had faith in God, and knew that the Lord's will must be done. Early in the morning he took Isaac and two of his servants, ABRAHAM AND LOT. 41 with wood for the burnt-offering, and an ass to help thern bear it, or perhaps for the lad to ride on. For three days they travelled, the father very sad, and the boy, not knowing why they were going so long a distance, no doubt, enjoying the ride, and talking prettily and innocently about all the strange things he saw. At length they reached the mountain, and then Abraham bade his young men remain behind, while he and Isaac went to make the offering. It was natural that the boy should ask where was the lamb that was to be killed, and his father answered sadly, " My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt-offer- ing." Perhaps he hoped that the Lord was only trying his obedience, but yet he knew that he must obey; and when they reached the place Abraham built the altar, and then, binding his boy on to it, took the knife and was about to kill him, when he heard his name called out of heaven. He an- swered, "Here am I ; " and then what must have been Abraham offering up isaac. his joy to hear the Lord say, "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him ; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me." Amazed and thankful, Abraham looked round and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. He took it, unbound Isaac, and made 42 ABRAHAM AND LOT. of the rani a burnt-offering to the Lord. In order that the place where the altar was built might be known afterwards, he named it Jehovah-jireh, "the mount of the Lord." Again the voice of God was heard, repeating the promise of the greatness of the people of which Abraham should be the father, as many as the stars in heaven and the sand which is upon the sea-shore, and that in them should all the nations of the earth be blessed. Abraham, we may be sure, went down from the mountain a happier man than when he started on his journey. His dear child was with him, not led as a victim to be offered up, but with a promise of life and happiness, and future greatness. After that Abraham dwelt at Beer- sheba, a place where, some time before, he had made a covenant, or treaty of peace, with Abimelech, a Philistine chief or king, with whom Abraham had had a dispute about a well. Beersheba means "the well of an oath," or the well where a solemn promise was made. Abraham had another son whose mother was Hagar, a servant of Sarah, who made Abraham turn her and the child away. Hagar wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba, and then, being without food or water, she laid the boy down under a shrub, thinking he must die. She went a short distance away, for she could not bear to see her ABRAHAM SENDING AWAY HAGAR AND ISHMAEL. ABRAHAM AND LOT. 43 dear son die. While she was weeping the angel of the Lord spoke to her, showed her a well, from which she got water, and told her that her son should be the father of a great nation. No doubt Hagar, while living with Abraham, had learned to pray to God, and now found how ready he is to hear prayer. The name given to her son was Ish- mael, which means " God hath heard." He grew up to be a great archer, and some of his children were famous men. Abraham sojourned in Gerar. There his wife Sarah was taken from him by Abimelech. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, Behold ! thou art but a dead man for the woman which thou hast taken ; for she is a man's wife. Abimelech was told that he had been restrained from sinning against God by taking the wife of Abraham and was com- manded to restore her to her lawful husband. So he rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them these things and abimelech restoring sarah to Abraham. the men were sore afraid. Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and men servants, and women servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech said, Behold ! my land is before thee : dwell where it pleases thee. And unto Sarah he said : Behold ! I have given thy 44 ISAAC AND REBEKAH. brother a thousand pieces of silver. Behold ! he is to thee a covering to the eyes unto all that is with thee. Thus she was reproved and Abraham likewise for having called her his sister. S ISAAC AND REBEKAH. ARAH died at the place afterwards named Hebron, in Canaan. She was a hundred and twenty-seven years old, and having lived so long with Abraham, he greatly mourned her loss. He bought the field of Machpelah, in which was a cave, for a burying-place, and there he laid the body of Sarah. He was very old, and felt that death was neai ; the Lord had blessed him in all things, and he wished that his son Isaac might be as happy as he had been. He could not, from age, rule over his hou.se, but he had a trusted servant, Eliezer, and he charged him not to choose a wife for his son from among the Canaanites where he then dwelt, but that he should go into his own country and there find a wife for Isaac. The wife chosen must come back with them, for, as the Lord had prom- ised his son should inherit the land where they then were, he must not remain in another place. The servant obeyed, took ten Abraham's servant and rebekah at the well. W en o 1-1 ft o co CO O a H p o M o a w « o o 55 l-t w w a M o o ISAAC AND REBEKAH. 45 camels and went to Nahor, in Mesopotamia. When lie reached that place, he made the camels kneel down outside the city, beside a well, to which the women of the place came to draw water. The servant had been trained by his master to fear God, and asked to be directed in the choice he was to make. He prayed that if he asked one of the j^oung women to give him drink from her pitcher, and she did so, and gave his camels drink also, that she might be the wife of Isaac. He had scarcely made the prayer before it was an- swsred, for there came to the well a beautiful young girl, Rebekah, the grand- daughter of Abraham's brother Nahor. She car- ried her pitcher on her shoulder in the Eastern manner, and went down to the well and filled it. The servant ran to her and asked her to let him drink from her pitcher. She let down her pitcher till it rested on her hand, and when he had drank from it, she saw that the camels were thirsty, and ran down to rebekah receiving presents from Abraham's servant. the well again, bringing up enough water for them all. The servant then gave her a golden ear-ring and golden bracelets of great value ; and asked her name, and whether there was room in her father's house for him to lodge. When she told him her father's name, and that he was the' son of 4G ISAAC AND REBEKAH. Abraham's brother and Milcah, the servant blessed God that his mastei had again known his mercy and truth, and that he, the servant, who had been trusted so much, had been led to the house of his master's relations. Rebekah made haste home and told her mother what had happened at the well, and her brother, Laban, went out to Abraham's servant and invited him to come to the house, where room had been made for him, his men and camels. They were fed, but he would eat nothing until he had related the reason why he had come. He told them how his master, Abraham, had been blessed and had become powerful and rich, how he had been sent into that country to seek a wife for Isaac, and how the Lord God of his master had guided him in the way to meet with Rebekah, who was the child of Abraham's brother's son. Bethuel, Rebekah's father, and Laban, her brother, saw that it was the Lord's will, and consented to let her go if she were willing. She said, "I will go," and the servant brought forth splended presents, raiment, and jewels of gold and silver, and gave them to her, making also handsome presents to her mother and brother. He and his men were well feasted, and in the morning he started to return to Abraham, and with him went Rebekah and her maidens, her relations blessing her as she went. Isaac was walking in the fields in the evening when he saw in the distance the camels, with Rebekah and her attendants riding on them. She, too, had seen him, and asked the servant of Abraham who it was walk- ing in the fields as if to meet them. When told that it was Isaac, whose wife she was to be, she got off the camel and covered her face with a veil. The faithful servant told his young master where he had been, and that he had brought Rebekah to be a wife for him. Isaac, who had greatly mourned the loss of his mother, who had been dead about three years, received Rebekah tenderly, loved her, and took her to the tent which had been Sarah's, and made her his wife. After the death of Sarah, Abraham had another wife, Keturah, and six other sons; but as they grew up he gave them presents and sent them away into the east country, so that they should not trouble Isaac, to whom he gave all his wealth. At the age of one hundred and seventy-five good old Abraham died, and was buried by the side of his wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah. God had greatly blessed him in his lifetime, and he continued his blessing to Isaac, and made him prosperous. JACOB AND ESAU. ISAAC and Rebekah were living very happily together, near Abraham's tents. But they had one great trouble — they had no child. They had been married a great many years, but no little children were making their home bright by merry play and happy voices ; so Isaac prayed very earnestly to God about it. And God answered his prayer. He said that Rebekah should have two sons, and that they should become afterwards — in many years — two nations ; that one people should be stronger than the other people, and that the elder should serve the younger. Not long after this two little baby-boys were born. They were twins — that means they were both born almost at the same time. The one who was just a very little the older was red and hairy, and they called his name Esau. The other, who was smooth and just like any other little baby, they called Jacob. But these names have a meaning. Esau means "hairy, or rough;" and Jacob means "a supplanter" — that is, one who displaces another, or steps into another's place. When the parents gave Jacob his name, they remembered that God had said the younger was to have the mastery over his elder brother. When the lads were about fifteen years old, their good old grand- father Abraham died. All his life he had walked with God. He had led an upright, holy and prayerful life, believing in and loving God with all his heart ; and he died at last in a good old age, being a hundred and seventy-five years old. Then his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him. In the cave of Machpelah, which he had bought from Ephron, and where he had buried Sarah, his dear and faithful wife, there they reverently laid down the body of him who was called the Friend of God, and the " father of all them that believe." And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac, his son. And Isaac and Rebekah took their two boys and went to live by Hagar's well. So the lads grew up; and Esau became a clever and successful hunter. He used to go out into the fields with his bow and arrows, and shoot birds and wild beasts; and he used to shoot the wild deer and bring 47 4d JACOB AND ESAU. it home, and have it roasted and made into savory meat for his father, Isaac. The flesh of deer is called venison; and Isaac liked venison very much. Jacob did not care for hunting. He was a plain man, with simple tastes and simple habits; and he lived quietly in a tent, and took care of sheep and goats. Jacob loved God ; and though, as we shall see, he was sometimes tempted to be sly, untruthful and selfish, yet God knew all that was in his heart, and he saw that he was humble-minded, and that he really did try to walk uprightly : so God loved him. But God did not love Bsau, for Esau was wicked, and had no wish to serve him. He did not care for God's promises, and he never tried to please him. Yet Esau was the favorite son of his good father, Isaac. Was it not strange ? Can you guess the reason of this ? It was because of the venison which he brought; but this was a very bad reason for loving him best. Rebekah, however, loved ESAU SELLING HIS BIRTHRIGHT FOR POTTAGE. ^ younger son the best One day Esau had been out in the fields hunting, and he came back very tired, and quite faint for want of food. Now Jacob had just made some soup for himself of lentils, which are a small kind of bean; and when Esau saw it he longed for it, and said to Jacob, "Feed me, I pray you, with that red soup, or pottage, for I am faint." JACOB AND ESAU. 49 And Jacob said, "If I give it to you, will you give up to me all your rights as the eldest son? " And Hsau answered, "Behold, I am at the point of death, and so my birthright will do me no good." " Promise me then faithfully that you will give your birthright to me," Jacob said. And Esau promised. So he sold his right as the elder for a basin of soup. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils. And he ate and drank, and then rose up and went away; thus he despised his birthright. But God was displeased at what he had done. Esau, as eldest son, was his father's heir; and special blessings and privileges were to be the portion of the first-born. All the laud of Canaan was promised to Abra- ham's children, and it would naturally come to be the inheritance of the first-born. But it would seem as if Esau did not care for blessings that were in the future and that he could not see ; the reason, no doubt, being that he did not believe in them. But Jacob had faith, and believed all God's promises. As his father Isaac was, of all Abraham's children, the one most blessed by God, so Jacob wished that God's special blessing should come on himself, and not on his elder brother. Yet he behaved very wrongly in the way he tried to get it ; and God blessed him, not because of it, but in spite of it. After this there was a famine in the land of Canaan. Do you know what a famine is ? It is a scarcity of food ; when men, women, and little children cannot get enough to eat. A famine is a terrible thing. People become so weak and ill from starvation that at last they lie down and die. Whenever there is a famine, hundreds and hundreds of people are killed by it; and think how dreadful a thing it must be to be starved to death! So, because of the famine, Isaac left the place where he was living, and went a little further off to a place called Gerah, where the king of that country lived. And I think that when Isaac saw how scarce food was there, he must have intended to go down into Egypt; for the Lord appeared to him, and said, " Do not go down into Egypt. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you, and bless you ; for to you, and to your children, I will give all these countries ; and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in your family, because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my commandments and my laws." 4 50 JACOB AND ESAU. So Isaac stayed in Gerah. And he sowed corn in that land; and God prospered him as he had promised, and gave him a wonderful harvest. While his neighbors scarcely reaped at all, Isaac had an abundance of corn. And he went on prospering in all that he did, so that he became very great and rich ; for he had large flocks of cattle and sheep, and a very great num- ber of servants. And the people of that land were jealous, and envied him. Then they began to show their angry feelings by doing spiteful things. They stopped up all the wells that Abraham's servants had made, and filled them with earth. This was doing much mischief, and a great mi kindness, for now the cattle were in danger of dying of thirst. But Isaac's servants digged the wells again, and called them by the same names that Abraham had given them. The men of Gerah, however, were always quarrelling with Isaac's men about the wells, and the king at last begged Isaac to go away. He said, " De- part from us ; for you are much stronger and more prosperous than we are." So Isaac took Rebekah his wife, and his two sons, Bsau and Jacob, and went quite a way from there. He returned to Beer-sheba, which was the place where he was born, where he grew up, and where he lived so long near to his parents' tents. When Esau was forty years old he did a thing which distressed his father and mother very much. He married two wives, and they were both women of Canaan. How could he expect the blessing of God, when he took his com- panions from a people who were exceedingly wicked, and who were under God's curse ? Ah ! it showed only too plainly that he did not care for God's blessing upon his marriage, nor upon his home ; and this was a sore trouble and a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah. Yet still Isaac loved his godless son the best, and wished to give him the best blessing — the blessing of the first-born. He wished to make him his heir — to leave to him all his riches, and to pass on to him all those glorious promises of spiritual blessings of which Bsau was quite unworthy, and for which he did not care. Some years passed away, and Isaac had become a very old man. He was a hundred and thirty-five years of age (at that time his sons were seventy-five years old), and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see. And he called Esau, his eldest son. and said to him, — "My son." And Esau answered, "Behold, here am I." JACOB AND ESAU. 51 And Isaac said, " Behold now, I am old ; I do not know how soon I may die. Now therefore take, I pray you, your weapons, your quiver" (a quiver is the case in which arrows are placed) " and your bow, and go out to the field, and get some venison for me ; and make me the savory meat that I like so much, and bring it to me, that I may eat ; then I shall bless you before I die." And Esau went to the field to hunt for vension, and to bring it. But Rebekah heard what Isaac had said to his son Bsau, and she began to think how she might get the best blessing for her own favorite — Jacob. She thought it could only be done by deceiving her husband, who was blind and old ; and she was so anxious that the younger son should get the blessing intended for Esau, that she made up her mind to steal it for him if she could. This was her plan. She said to Jacob, " Behold, I heard your father speak unto Esau your brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savory meat, that I may eat, and bless you before the Lord before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and do exactly what I tell you. Go to the flock, and look out two good kids of the goats ; then bring them to me, and I will make savory meat for your father, such as he likes so much. And you shall take it to your father, that he may eat, and that he may bless you before his death." And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, " Behold, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man : perhaps my father will feel me, and then he will find out that I was trying to deceive him ; so I shall bring a curse upon myself, and not a blessing." And his mother said, " Let the curse come upon me, my son ; only obey my voice, and do as I have said." Then Jacob went and brought two kids to his mother ; and she made savory meat, as his father loved. And Rebekah took some beautiful garments which belonged to her eldest son, Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob, her younger son. And she covered his hands and his neck with the skins of the kids of the goats; so that his hands and his neck might feel hairy, like those of his brother Esau. When all this was done, Rebekah put into Jacob's hand the savory meat and the bread which she had prepared And he came to his father and said, " My father." And Isaac answered, "Here am I; who are you, my son?" 52 JACOB AND ESAU. And Jacob said to his father, " I am Esau your first-born. I have done as you bade me. Arise, I pray you, and eat of my venison, that you may bless me." And Isaac said unto his son, " How is it that you have found it so quickl} r , my son ?" Jacob replied, " Because the Lord your God brought it to me." I wonder Jacob was not afraid to say this, and to use God's name when he was sinning against God, and against his poor old father, and Esau. And is it not sad to see how he went on telling one untruth after another? Poor old Isaac could not see, but he could hear ; and he did not think it sounded like Esau's voice. He was not quite satisfied yet, so he said, "Come near, I pray you, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are indeed my very son Esau or not." And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him and said, " The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau " And Isaac did not find out who it was, because his hands were hairy as his brother Esau's hands. But once more he asked him, " Are you my very son Esau?" And again Jacob lied to his father, and said, " I am." Then Isaac said, " Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless you." And Jacob brought it to his father, and he did eat; and he brought him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac said to him, " Come near now, and kiss me, my son" And Jacob came near and kissed him. And he smelled the smell of his raiment (you remember, Jacob was wearing Esau's garments, and most likely they were perfumed, as was often the case in those countries), and he blessed him and said, " See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed ; therefore God give you of the dew of heaven, so that the earth may bring forth abundantly for you, and that you may have plenty of corn and wine. Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you ; be lord over your brethren, and let your mother's sons bow down to you. May God punish every one who injures you, and may he bless all those who do you good." This was the blessing. But Isaac had forgotten that God had said, " The elder shall serve the younger." Though he was really blessing Jacob, he thought he was blessing Esau ; and such words as these, " Be lord over your brothers, and JACOB AND ESAU. 53 let your mother's sons bow down to you," should never have been spoken to Esau, for it was against God's will. Well, it came to pass as soon as Isaac had made an end of bless- ing Jacob, and Jacob was scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Hsau his brother came in from his hunting. And he also had made savory meat, and brought it unto his father ; and he said unto him, " Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that your soul may bless me." And Isaac his father said to him," Who are you?" And he answered , " I am your sou, your first- born, Esau." Then Isaac trem- bled very exceedingly, and said, "Who? where is he who has hunted venison, and brought it to me, and I have eaten of all before you. came, aud have blessed him ? yes, and he shall be blessed." When Esau heard the words of his father, he JACOB OBTAINING THE BLESSING FROM ISAAC. cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, " Bless me, even me also, O my father!'' And Isaac said, ' Your brother came slily, aud has taken away your blessing." And Esau felt exceedingly angry with Jacob, and said, " Is he not rightly named Jacob ? for he has stepped into my place these two times : 54 JACOB AND ESAU. he took away my birthright ; and, behold, now he has taken away my blessing. But have you not kept a blessing for me ? " . And Isaac answered and said unto Bsau, "Behold, I have made him your lord, and all his brethren have I given him for servants; and with corn and wine have I supplied him : and what shall I do now unto you, my son ? ' ' And Esau said unto his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me, also, O my father!" And Bsau lifted up his voice and wept. Then Isaac, his father, answered and said unto him, "Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. You shall have an abundance of the good things of this world, and you shall live by your sword, and shall serve your brother; but it shall come to pass that, when you shall have the power, you shall set yourself free from him again." Some one had overheard what Bsau said when he threatened to kill Tiis brother, and had told Rebekah about it. She was greatly distressed, and sent at once to call Jacob, her younger son, and said to him, — "Behold, your brother Bsau is planning to kill you one day. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, go quickly and secretly to Labaii my brother, who lives in Haran ; and stay with him a short time till your brother's fuiy turn away ; until your brother's anger turn away from you, and he forgets that which you have done to him: then I will send and fetch you home again. Why should I be deprived of you both in one day?" Rebekah did not tell Isaac what Bsau was going to do ; perhaps she thought it would distress him too much. But she gave him another reason for wanting to send Jacob away to her own country. So she said to her husband, — " I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Canaan. If Tacob should take a wife of the daughters of the land, as Bsau has done, it will distress me all my life long." Isaac felt that Rebekah was right in what she said, and that Jacob ought to be sent away to his own relations far off, that he might choose a wife from the family of Shem. So he called Jacob and blessed him, and gave him a solemn charge, or order, and said to him, — " You shall not take a wife of the maidens of Canaan ; but arise, JACOB AND ESAU. 55 go to Haran, to the house of your mother's father, and take one of the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother, to be your wife. And God Almighty bless you, and make you prosperous, and increase you, that you may be a multitude of people ; and give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your children also, that you may inherit the land which God gave to Abraham." Then Isaac and Re- bekah sent away Jacob ; and he went out from Beer- sheba and took the way toward Haran. So Jacob set out on his journey ; and I have no doubt he felt very lonely and sad as he left his old home, where he had lived quietly and con- tentedly for so many years. He was no longer a young man, for he was seventy- five years old ; and I dare say he thought it hard to be obliged to begin a new life all by himself. Ah ! if he had not deceived his father, and cheated his brother, he would never Jacob's vision OF THE ANGELS. have been sent away like this : it was the consequence of his own sin. And now the day had come to an end. The sun had set and he could not sea his way any further that evening ; so he determined to rest for the night in the place to which he had come. He took a stone, and arranged it for a pillow, and then he lay down to sleep. It was not a very pleasant bed, but he had a very sweet and wonderful dream there. 56 JACOB AND KSAU. This was his dream. He saw a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven ; and behold, the angels of-God were ascending and descending (that is, going up and down) on it. And behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, " I am the Lord God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac : the land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your children ; and your family shall be as the dust of the earth for number, and shall spread every way — to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south : and in you and in your children shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you in all places where you are going, and will bring you again into this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken to you of." When Jacob awcke out of his sleep, he said, " Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not!" And he was afraid. I think, when he felt the nearness of God to him, he then saw his own sinfulness, and how unworthy he was of so much loving-kindness and favor. He said, " How dreadful is this place ! This is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillow, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it. He had nothing else to give to God as a thank-offering, so he poured upon this stone the oil that he had brought for his journey. And he called the name of the place Beth-el, which means " The house of God." It took Jacob a great many days to get to his journey's end, for it was about four hundred miles from Beer-sheba to Haran; but at last he came into the land of the people of the east. And he looked, and behold there was a well in the field, and lo, three flocks of sheep were lying by it. This was the well to which all the cattle were brought for water, but just now a great stone was upon the well's mouth. You remember, I have already explained to you that in those hot countries wells are very valuable, for there is often a great scarcity of water. Sometimes the wells are locked up or fastened, and are or n y opened once or twice a day, when all the flocks are gathered together; for it is necessary to be very careful that there should be no waste of water. Sometimes the wells are covered over with a large stoue, or with boards, to keep the dust and sand from drifting in. JACOB AND ESAU. 5? When Jacob saw the men waiting beside the well with their sheep, he said to them, " My brethren, where do you come from ? " To this question they answered, " We come from Haran." Jacob must have felt very glad to hear this, for Haran was the very town to which he was going. Then he asked them, " Do you know Laban, whose grandfather was Nahor, Abraham's brother ? " "Yes," they replied, " we know him." "Is he well?" Ja- cob asked. And they said " He is well ; and, behold, here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep." And Jacob said, " It is not time that the cattle should be gathered together yet ; why do you not give water to the sheep, and then go and feed them ? " And they answered, " We must not draw any water until all the flocks are gathered together, and till they roll the stone away from the well ; then we may draw water for the sheep." While Jacob was talking with the men, Ra- J ACOB AT THE WELL 0F haran. chel came with her father's sheep, for she kept them. And it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near and rolled away the stone from the well. Then he drew water for all Laban's flock. It was hard work to draw so much water ; but Jacob was glad to do it for Rachel, to help her. 58 JACOB AND ESAU. And Jacob kissed Rachel ; and he lifted up his voice and wept. It was not that he was unhappy now — that was not why- he wept ; they were tears of thankfulness and gladness. He was thankful to God for bringing him safely on his journey, and guiding him to the right place; and he was so glad to see one of his relations again — for, you know, Rachel was his cousin. And Jacob told Rachel that he was Rebekah's son, and that Laban was his uncle ; and she ran and told her father. And it came to pass when Laban heard that Jacob, his sister's son, had come, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house. And he told Laban all that had happened to him. And Laban said, "Surely you are of our family and belong to us." Now Laban had two daughters : the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. And Rachel was very beauti- ful, and Jacob loved her very much ; and he wanted her to be his wife, so that she might be his companion always. So he said to Laban, " I will be your servant for seven years, if you will give me Rachel, your younger daughter, to be my wife." And Laban answered, " Yes, I will do as you wish ; so stay with me." And Jacob served Laban very faithfully and well for seven years ; and it seemed to him only as a few days, because he loved her so much. And at the end of the seven years he said to Laban, " Give me my wife, for I have served out my full time." Then Laban made a great feast — a marriage feast — and invited all his friends and neighbors to it. And the bride was covered with a long veil from her head to her feet, which quite hid her face from every one ; and after the wedding she was taken to Jacob's tent. Then the veil was taken off, and behold, it was Leah to whom he had been married, and not to Rachel whom he loved. Jacob was very angry at having been so cheated, and he went to Laban, and said, " What is this that you have done unto me ? Did I not serve you for Rachel ? Why then have you deceived me ? " And Laban said, " It is not the custom in our country that the younger should be married before the elder ; but I will give Rachel also to be your wife, if you will be my servant for seven more years." JACOB AND ESAU. 5J* And iiow Jacob was beginning to think longingly of bis old borne in Canaan, and to wish to return there, and to see his parents once more. He had finished his term of service, and had been Laban's shepherd for fourteen years ; and so, as soon as Joseph was born, Jacob said to Laban, — " Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country. Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you and let me go ; for you know how useful I have been to you." But Laban did not want Jacob to go away. He found him such a faithful seivant and son-in-law. that he felt as if he could not spare him. One day as Jacob was taking care of Laban's flocks, God spoke to him, and said, " Return unto the land of your fathers, and to your family, and I will be with yon." And Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field where he was ; and when they came he said to them, " I see your father is not as friendly to me as he used to be ; but the God of my fathers has been with me. And you know that with all my power I have served your father; and your father has deceived me, and has changed my wages ten times ; but God would not let him hurt me. For he has taken care of me, and it is he who has taken the cattle of your father and given them to me. If your father said, The speckled shall be your wages, then all the cattle that were born were speckled ; and if he said, The striped cattle shall be your wages, then all that were born were striped." So this was God's doing. Then Jacob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon camels ; and he carried away all the cattle that belonged to him, and all the goods which he had gotten in that country, to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan. He did not tell Laban he was going away, because he could not trust him. Laban at that time had gone to shear his sheep ; and Rachel took the opportunity of going into her father's house and stealing some images or idols which belonged to her father. But Jacob did not know what she had done. So he fled with his two wives and his children, and his men-servants and maid-servants, and his flocks and herds ; and he passed over the river, and set his face to go toward Canaan. Three days passed away before Laban knew that Jacob had gone ; and when he found that he had taken his family and all his goods, he was 60 JACOB AND ESAU. exceedingly angry. He missed his images too, and thought that Jacob had stolen them ; so he took some men with him, and set out in great haste, and with very unkind, angry feelings in his heart, to overtake Jacob. For six da}^s Laban and his party journeyed on without coming up to him ; but that night (the sixth night) God came to Laban in a dream, and said to him, — " Take care that you do net speak to Jacob either good or bad." God meant that Laban was not to try to persuade Jacob to go back to Haran, either by kind words or by threats. Next day Laban went on with his journey again, and then at last he met Jacob, who had pitched his tents, and was resting his family and his flocks after their long journey. They had been travelling for six days, and this was the seventh day of rest. Laban was longing to say bitter words to Jacob, and to do him some unkindness ; but he did not dare to LABAN OVERTAKING JACOB. disobey God. After this, Jacob went on his journey again with a thankful heart, because God had saved him from Laban's anger, and had made them to part friends. And as he went on his way the angels of God met him. We dc not know with what appearance they came, but Jacob knew they were the angels of God, and he said, "This is God's host" (or army). JACOB AND ESAU. 61 How wonderful was God's love and kindness to Jacob ! And how often he gave him fresh tokens of his unceasing care and watchfulness over him ! By the angels that he had seen in his dream, ascending and descending upon the ladder, God had taught him that his angels were always about him. But now he was permitted to see them, not in a dream, but with his own eyes, face to face. Is it not sweet to think that God and his angels are also with us continually ? It is written in the Psalms, " The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." And the Lord Jesus said, " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." How careful it should make us, both in what we say and in what we do, when we remember that God's eye is ever upon us ! As Jacob journeyed on, he was now coming to a part of the country where his brother Esau lived ; for Esau had gone away from Beer-sheba, and was not now living near his father Isaac's tents. And Jacob was afraid to meet his brother, for he did not know if he had forgiven him about the birthright, and the blessing, of which Jacob had robbed him. So he sent some men with a very humble message to his brother. Jacob went amongst his cattle and put apart a great number of them as a present for Esau, his brother. There were two hundred and twenty goats, and two hundred and twenty sheep, thirty camels (each with its young one), forty cows and ten bulls, and thirty asses. All these animals he gave into the care of his servants, every drove by themselves; and he said to his servants, " Pass over before me, and put a space between drove and drove." And he commanded the foremost (those that went in front) saying, ' When Esau my brother meets you, and asks you, saying, Who is your master ? and where are you going ? and to whom do these cattle bslong ? then you shall say, They are your servant Jacob's; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau : and, behold, also he is behind us." And Jacob commanded the men that had care of the second and the third droves, and all that followed after them, to say the same words. And he said to them, " This is the way you shall speak unto Esau when you find him. And say, moreover, Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us." For Jacob said, "I will make him feel kindly towards me because of the present that goes before me, and afterwards I will see his face ; perhaps he will be friendly with me." 62 JACOB AND ESAU. So tiic present went over before him; and lie himself remained behind in that place that night. And in the night he rose up and took his two wives, and his two women-servants, and his eleven sons, and all that he had, and sent them over the brook for greater safety. And Jacob was left alone. I think he must have stayed behind by him- self that night that he might again pray to God with all his heart to be kept in safety, and that Bsau might not hurt either his wives or his children. He had done all that he could think of to make his brother friendly to him ; but he knew that unless God helped him all his own efforts would be useless. And while he was there praying to God alone in the darkness, a man came to him and wrestled, or struggled, with him. He looked like a man, but it was an angel ; yet not a created angel, but even the Angel of the Cove- nant, Jehovah Jesus him- self, in the form of a man. Happy, blessed Jacob! And the Angel wres- JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL. tied with him until the dawning of the day. The struggle lasted a long time, but Jacob would not let go his hold. Then the Angel said to Jacob, ■'Let me go, for the day is breaking." And Jacob said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." And the Angel said, "What is your name?" JACOB AND ESAU. 63 Aud lie answered, "Jacob." And he said, " Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel " (that means " a prince of God ") : " for as a prince you have power with God and with men, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him, saying, " Tell me, I pray thee, thy name." But the Angel said, " Why is it that you ask after my name ? " And he blessed Jacob there. And he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh, so that he became lame ; and Jacob was always lame after that to the day of his death. Do you think he was sorry and pitied himself for his lameness ? Oh no. He felt how much honor had been put upon him, and he was full of gratitude that his life had been preserved in that struggle. Jacob had now the constant memory, every day, of the wonderful love and condescension of him who came afterwards to our earth, to be our dear and blessed Saviour and Redeemer. Bvery day his lameness would remind him of that strange night when he wrestled with the angel Jeho- vah till the dawning of the day. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, or " The Face of God ; " for he said, " I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." When the sun had risen, Jacob went on again with his company. And he lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Hsau came, and with him four hundred men. Then Jacob quickly arranged his party, and divided the children to Leah, and to Rachel, and to the two maid-servants. And he put the servants and their children first ; and Leah and her children after; and Rachel and Joseph last of all. And Jacob passed over before them, and bowed himself to> the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. Hsau forgot his anger, and ran to meet him ; embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him. When the twin-brothers saw each other again after twenty long years of absence, all unkindness was forgotten. Hsau had left his home intending to fight with Jacob ; but God had touched his heart, and now nothing but kind words passed between them. And Hsau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and the children ; and he said to Jacob, — " Who are these with you ? " Jacob answered, " These are the children that God has graciously given to your servant." Then the maid-servants came near, they and their children, and they 64 JACOB AND ESAU. bowed themselves. And Leah also came near with her children, and they bowed themselves; and after, came Joseph near, and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. And Esan said, "What is the meaning of all those cattle that I met?" Jacob answered and said, "They are a present to my lord." And Esau said, "1 have enough, my brother; keep all the cattle for yourself." But Jacob said, "No, I pray you, if now I have found grace in your sight, then receive my present at my hand ; for I have seen your face, and you have been pleased with me. Take, I pray you, my present that is brought to you ; because God has been gracious to me, and because I have enough." And Jacob urged him so much that L^au took it. Then Esau said to his brother, " Let us now take our journey together, and I will go on first." But Jacob answered, MEETING OF JACOB AND ESAU. a My lord> y(m knQW that the children are very young, and that I have a great many little lambs and kids and calves ; and if we were to drive them too fast, they would die. I pray you, my lord, to go on first before your servant ; and I will follow softly after, according as the cattle and the children are able to bear, until I come unto my lord to Seir." JACOB AND ESAU. And Esau said, " Let me then leave some of my men with you, to protect you." But Jacob did not need his brother's men of war to guard him. He knew that God had promised to take care of him, and that God's angels were about his path; so he said to Esau, " Indeed I do not need your men; only let me find grace in the sight of my lord." So Esau went back to his own home at Seir, and Jacob journeyed quietly on, till he came to a place called Succoth. There he pitched his tents, and made booths, or sheds, for his cattle. But he did not stay long there, for he wanted to get back to the land of promise. So after resting for a lktle time, he went on again, till he came, in peace and safety, to the city called Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan. It was not wise of Jacob to pitch his tents so near to one of the wicked cities of Canaan. We know what trouble it brought upon the family MASSACRE OF THE SHECHEMiTES. of just Lot when he went to live in Sodom, because some of his children learned the evil ways of the people of the city. And Jacob suffered, too, from the same cause. Jacob had a daughter whose name was Dinah ; and she went out to see the daughters of the land -to visit them, and to make friends with them. 66 JACOB AND ESAU. Dinah was led into wrong-doing by her godless companions and her new friends in Shechem. And when her brothers heard about it, they were so grieved and angry that two of them took their swords, and went into the city, and killed every man that was there ; and they took all the women to be slaves. Then they took away all the sheep and o> en and asses that belonged to the people of Shechem, and they took away all the riches that they found in their houses. Jacob was greatly grieved at what his proud and angry sons had done ; and he was afraid, too, that the other people of the land would come and fight with him, because so many of their family were killed. But God kept him from this danger, yet he would not let him remain any longer in that place. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to every one that was with him, " Put away all the strange gods that are among you. And wash yourselves, and change your garments ; and let us arise, and go up to Beth-el. And I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and who was with me in the way that I went." When Jacob had commanded his household to put away all their strange gods, they brought to him all their idols, and all the earrings that were in their ears that had on them the figures of the idols. And Jacob hid them. He buried them under an oak tree that was near the city, that they might never be found again. Then Jacob took up his tents, and with all his family and all his cattle he journeyed on towards Beth-el. And -God made all the people that were in the cities round about them to be in terror and afraid, so that they did not dare to pursue after the sons of Jacob. And in this way God kept his chosen people safely, till they arrived in peace at Beth-el. JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. OLD Jacob had many sons, but best of all he loved Joseph, whose mother was Rachel. Some of the elder sons acted wickedly and caused their father great sorrow, but Joseph was always obedient and good, and being much younger than the others, born when Jacob was- growing old, and the son of Rachel, who had been always loved so dearly,. he was anxiously watched over by his father, who, among other marks of love, gave him, when he was about seventeen years old, a handsome coat of many colors, in which no doubt he looked very gay. This present made his brothers very angry ; they were already jealous of him because he was clever, and because his father and mother were so proud of him, and, being spiteful, they never spoke kindly to him. as brothers should do, but hated him, and made up their minds to do him some injury if they could. Joseph had strange dreams, and as he was very open and truthful, and loved his brothers, although they were so unkind to him, he told them what he had dreamed, not thinking it would offend them or make them more jealous. Once he dreamed that they were all working together in the corn-field, as they often were, binding up the sheaves at harvest-time. The sheaf that he bound stood up in the middle and those which his brothers bound stood round, and the strange part of the dream was that their sheaves bowed to his. When he told this dream, his brothers were very angry, and asked him if he really supposed that he would ever reign over them and they would bow to him. Joseph, perhaps, had no idea that the dream meant that, and was sorry that his brothers should think any the worse of him because he had told them. But they hated him even more when he told them another dream which he had shortly afterwards. In that dream it was not sheaves of wheat which bowed to his sheaf, but th? sun, moon, and eleven stars seemed to be bowing to himself. This dream seemed so strange and wonderful that he told it not only to his brothers, but to his father, Jacob, who was displeased, for he thought that the sun and moon might mean himself and Joseph's mother, and the eleven stars the brothers, for there were eleven besides Joseph, ten older, and one, little Benjamin, Rachel's baby. 67 68 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. No doubt Jacob supposed that the lad thought too much of himself, aud that made him dream that he was a much greater person than any of the rest of the family ; but he could not forget the dream — the Bible says he " observed the saying," that is, remembered it, and when Joseph came to be a very great man, as we shall see he did, his father, we can well believe, thought of the strange dream about the sun and moon and stars. All the brothers were shepherds, for flocks of sheep and goats were a great part of their father's wealth, and they led the flocks to feed some- times a long distance from home. Joseph did not always go with them, his father aud mother, perhaps, not liking him to be long away from them; but one day, soon after Joseph had had the last dream, his father told him to go after his brothers, who had gone with the sheep to a place named Shechem, and bring him back word whether they were all well, and the sheep properly cared for. Joseph went to Shechem, but he could not find his brothers, who, he was told, had gone farther away, to Dothan; there he saw them in the distance with the sheep, and hastened towards them. They saw him coming, and hating him so much as they did, they thought there was a chance of doing him some mischief, and as they were so far away from home, their father would not know of it. They had not forgotten or for- given the dreams in which they had appeared to pay him such respect, and when they saw Joseph coming towards them, pleased to see them after searching for them so long, instead of welcoming him as a brother, some of them said, "Here comes this dreamer; let us kill him. We can put him into a pit, and tell our father that a wild beast has eaten him ; then we shall have no more of his dreams." The elder brother, Reuben, however, was not so wicked as the rest, and could not make up his mind to kill his young brother. It is sad to think that any of them should have wished to hurt so kind-hearted and good a youth as Joseph was, and their own brother, too; but jealousy makes people commit very gieat sins. Reuben, perhaps, had not courage enough to take Joseph's part openly, but he thought that if he could get him away from his cruel brothers, he might be able to take him back, secretly but safely, to their father Jacob. " Do not let us kill him," he said, " but if we put him into the pit in the wilderness, he will never trouble us again, and we shall not have shed his blood." JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 69 The other brothers agreed to this, trying to make themselves believe that they should not be guilty of his death, if they did not actually kill him with blows, but only left him to starve in a deep pit, from which it did not seem possible he could escape. They took the advice of Reuben,, and, having first taken off the handsome coat which Jacob had given Joseph, threw him into the deep pit, not heeding the cries for mercy of their poor young brother. Hard-hearted, indeed, they must have been, for they sat down to eat near the pit where they had left Joseph to die. They little thought that their cruelty would be the means of Joseph becoming a great man and a ruler over many, to whom they would some day come to beg for bread; but so it was, and he who was left to starve in the pit, while they were eating, was saved by the power of God, to give them food. In those days, as now, merchants in the Eastern lands used to make long journeys, with camels laden with precious articles, from one part of the country to another; and while the wicked brothers were resting, there came towards them a number of Ishmaelites, with camels bearing spices and other things of great value which they had bought in Gilead, and were taking to Egypt. Judah, the fourth of Jacob's sons, was greedy as well as cruel, and the sight of so much wealth made him think that, perhaps, the merchants wanted a slave, and if they would buy Joseph he would be as much out of his brothers' way as if he were dead ; for if taken to Egypt, there would be little chance of his coming back, and the price given for him could be divided among his brethren. He, therefore, spoke to the others, except Reuben, who had gone away, intending, perhaps, not to return until his brothers had left the place, when he could pull Joseph out of the pit and take him home, and they agreed to sell the lad, if the merchants would buy him. The Ishmaelites, or Midianites, as they are also named, were willing to give twenty pieces of silver for Joseph, who was taken from the pit and given to them. His brothers did not care whether he would be treated well or ill. It might be that the merchants would beat him, for slaves have very often been beaten by cruel masters ; perhaps his life would be made so wretched that he might almost wish he had been left to die in the pit. Cruel Judah and the others had no pity for him, nor for their father, who would feel such grief at the loss of his dear son. When Reuben came back he found the pit empty, and gave way to 70 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. his sorrow, for perhaps he loved his young brother, and being the eldest, knew that his father would expect that he would take care of him. All Judah and the others thought of was how they could deceive Jacob. To do so, they killed a young goat and dipped Joseph's handsome coat in the blood. When they reached home, they showed the coat, torn and stained with blood, to their old father, and said, " This have we found ; we know not whether it be thy son's coat or no." Jacob knew it well. It was the coat of many colors which his dear child had worn when, full of life and hap- piness, he had left home to follow his brothers. The blood, the rents, made him think that his son had indeed been set upon and killed by some wild beast, and that he should never see his dar- ling again. For many days he gave himself up to his great grief; he had no desire to live, and, when* those about him tried to comfort him, could only say, " I will go down into JOSEPH sold by HIS BRETHREN. the grave unto my son mourning.'' His sons dared not now tell him the truth, that no doubt Joseph was yet alive, and might escape from slavery and return ; but they pretended to comfort him, while deceiving him. The merchants reached Egypt, then a very great country, ruled over by a famous king, who bore the title of Pharaoh. They sold their JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 71 spices and the other valuable things with which their camels were loaded, and then they thought of selling the lad whom they had bought of the men who were keeping the sheep and goats near the pit in the wilderness. Rich men in Egypt kept slaves in their houses to wait upon them, and a master was soon found for Joseph, who was clever and had pleasing manners. He was bought by Potiphar, one of the chief officers of Pharaoh, and captain of the guard, a rich and powerful man in the kingdom. He found how truthful and industrious Joseph was, and trusted him greatly, so that in a short time he made him his steward, or master over the other servants, and gave him the care of his house and riches. God had watched over and taken care of Joseph; had saved him from a cruel death, and had provided for him a new home, where were no envious and cruel brothers, hut a kind master who loved and trusted him. And, for his sake, the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian captain, and all that he had in the fields. No doubt Joseph often thought of his father and of his little brother, whom he had left a motherless baby, for Rachel had died soon after the child was born, and perhaps he thought the day might come when he should again see them ; but he knew that his duty now was to serve his master faithfully, and take care of the riches with which he was trusted. Doing his duty well, he was happy, and grew up a handsome young man, admired and beloved by all. Potiphar had a wicked wife, who tried to make Joseph deceive his master, and because he would not, in her anger and spite, she made false charges against him, and told her husband that he had been acting wickedly. Potiphar believed his wife, and, thinking that the young man whom he had so greatly trusted had deceived him, he put him in the prison where those who had been guilty of great offences were punished. It would almost have seemed now that Joseph was ruined ; his master no longer trusted him, but had made him a prisoner; he, who a few days before had been so powerful in Potiphar's house, who had been looked up to by all the servants as the chief man in the place, next to Potiphar him- self, was in a wretched prison, with no companions but those who had been guilty of great crimes, and some of whom were soon to meet a cruel death. But God did not desert Joseph even then. We may be sure the young man had not forgotten what he had learned in his father's ' tent, that the Lord watched over all who prayed to him, and trusted in him, 72 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. and that now, in his great trouble, he prayed earnestly to the God of his fathers, who had done so much for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Bible tells us that " the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him mere)-," and that being so, no doubt the young prisoner was happier than lie would have been if he had been Pharaoh himself. As he had at first found favor with Potiphar, so now he found a friend in the chief jailor of the prison, who gave him the charge of the others who were there, and trusted him with the care of the place himself, " looking not to anything that was under his hand." And here, again, as in the house of Potiphar, the blessing of the Lord made everything that Joseph did to prosper. In the prison with Joseph were two of the servants of the king, the chief butler and the chief baker, who had been guilty of some offence which had made Pharaoh angry. They were put under Joseph's care, and soon looked upon him as a friend. One night both these prisoners dreamed,, and in the morning they were very sad, for their dreams troubled them. They each thought they had been waiting on the king as they used to wait on him, and when they woke, we may suppose they felt bitterly how changed was their state, no longer happy men in a king's house, but poor prisoners in a dungeon. Joseph, in his kind way, asked them the cause of their grief, and, remembering his own dreams, and the manner in which they had been explained, believed that the Lord would enable him to tell these poor men what their dreams meant. They were glad to find a friend, and told him all. The chief butler had dreamed that he saw a vine with three branches, and buds and blossoms which became rich clusters of grapes, which he pressed into the cup of the king, who took it into his hand. The chief baker had dreamed that he bore on his head three baskets, and the top one had baked meats which he intended for the king, but birds came and ate them out of the baskets. By the power God had given him, Joseph knew what these dreams meant, and he told the chief butler that the three branches meant three days, and that within that time he would be taken out of prison and restored to his place in Pharaoh's house. "And," said Joseph, "think of me when it shall be w T ell with thee." He told the baker that the three dishes meant three days, and within three days he would be hanged, and birds would eat his flesh. Joseph was right in his explanation of the dreams; for three days afterwards — the exact time he had mentioned — was Pharaoh's birthday, and JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 73 he gave a feast to all his servants. The chief butler and the chief baker were allowed to be among them, and then they knew, the one to his joy, the other to his sorrow, how truly Joseph had told them what was the meaning of their dreams. The king gave the chief butler his place again, and he stood by his side and filled his cup while he feasted, but the chief baker was not forgiven, but was hanged as Joseph had said he would be. Perhaps Joseph now thought he had made a good friend at court; that the butler, once more a favorite of the king's, would tell him about the young man who had been unjustly punished, and ask Pharaoh to release him from prison. But the butler forgot his friend who had been so kind to him for two years, and no doubt would have forgotten him altogether but for a remarkable dream which the king had. He thought he was standing by the river — the great river Nile which flows through Kgypt, and there came out of it seven fat cows — they are described in the Bible as "kine," a name for cows seldom used now — which fed in a meadow. Presently seven very thin, hungry-looking cows also came out of the river, and ate the fat cows. This was a strange dream, and Pharaoh was much troubled to know what it could mean, for he had a strong belief that such a dream must be intended to teach him something. His uneasiness was made greater by another dream which he had afterwards, in which he saw seven good and full ears of corn, and seven thin ears, blighted by the east wind. Just as the lean cows had eaten the fat cows, so the thin ears of corn seemed to devour the full and ripe ears. Pharaoh was greatly distressed; in each dream there was the number seven, and in each dream the thin and poor things destroyed and devoured those which were fairer and richer. There were in Egypt, as there are in many countries, a number of men who thought themselves very learned, and who, by their knowledge, were able to do things that appeared wonderful and above the common power of men. These magicians, as they were called, said they could explain secret things, and most of the people, the king as much as the rest,, believed in their power. In the morning after the night in which Pharaoh had had two such strange and troubling dreams, he sent for these " wise men," and, telling them what had occurred, desired them to explain the meaning. But they could not; they were obliged to say they did not know what the cows and the ears of corn meant, and the king was only the 74 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. more troubled when he found that none of the wise men of his kingdom could help him to understand his dreams. The chief butler, who had so long forgotten Joseph, then remembered how his own dream and that of his fellow-servant had been explained. He knew that, although the magicians had failed, the young Hebrew in the prison would be able to tell the king what the dreams meant; and, per- haps, wishing to gain favor with Pharaoh quite as much as to serve Joseph, he told him of what had happened in the prison and what a wonderful young man was the He- brew who was there act- ing as a servant to the captain of the guard. Pharaoh directly sent to the prison, and ordered the jailer to bring Joseph to the palace. The prison dress was changed for better clothes, so that he might be fitter to appear before so great a king, and then he was taken to Pha- raoh, who asked him if it was true he could tell him JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH'S DREAMS. ^^ ^ ^ stnmge dreams meant. Joseph answered modestly that he had not the power in himself, but that God would, through him, give " an answer of peace." The king then told the dreams ; and Joseph, taught by God, at once explained them. He showed to Pharaoh that the two dreams were alike in meaning; that the cows and ears of wheat meant years; that there JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 75 would be seven years of plenty in Egypt followed by seven years of famine, when all that had been saved in the good years should be eaten up. He told Pharaoh this would surely take place, "because the thing is established by God." He advised the king to choose some wise and careful man, and make him the chief man in the kingdom, with power to appoint officers who should store up the corn in the years of plenty, and keep it carefully, so that it might be ready to feed the people when the seven years of famine came. Pharaoh and the nobles saw that this was good advice, and, believing that Joseph spoke by the Spirit of God, because he spoke so wisely, Pharaoh chose him to be the ruler over the people. " Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall my people be ruled : only in the throne will I be greater than thou." He took his ring from his hand and gave it to Joseph, had him dressed in fine robes, put a chain of gold round his neck, made him ride in one of the royal chariots, and bade his people bow to him as he passed. Not only did he make him ruler over the land, with full power to do what he pleased, but he gave him for a wife the daughter of one of the chief priests of Egypt. What a change in the life of Joseph, the poor Hebrew lad, sold into slavery by his wicked brothers, and only a few hours before a prisoner, with no hope of release! Now he was no more Joseph unjustly punished, the servant of the captain of a prison, but the most powerful man in Egypt, second only in dignity to Pharaoh himself, and named, in Egyptian fashion, Zaphnath-paaneah, meaning "one who saves." No doubt the chief butler was very humble before him, and hoped that he would forget his long forgetfulness of his promise to help him. Pharaoh soon found what a wise choice he had made. Joseph was now a grown-up man, full of health and activity, wise and able as a ruler. The seven years of plenty came exactly as he said they would. There was abundance of every kind of food, and Joseph and his officers "gathered corn as the sand of the sea ; " so plentiful indeed was it that they left off counting the stores they made, for " it was without number." Never had been known such a harvest, and wise Joseph collected large stores to be ready for the years of famine which he knew were coming. He was very great and very happy. We may suppose he often 76 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. thought about his old father, woudered if he was still alive, and whether his brothers were kiuder thau they used to be, and ever thought of him. He had two little sons of his own now, whom, we may be sure, he loved as dearly as Jacob had loved himself and little Benjamin. His eldest son he named Manasseh, which meant in Hebrew, "not forgotten;" and to the second he gave the name Ephraim, another Hebrew word meaning " fruitful," for, said he, " God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." In the midst of all his state, and powerful as he was, the good and wise Joseph remembered his native land and the language which had been taught him by Jacob and his mother Rachel. He did not give his children Egyptian names, but names which, in the language of his childhood, showed that he had not forgotten what he had been, and how thankful he was that he had prospered in a strange land. When the seven fruitful years were ended there came the seven years of famine. No corn grew in all the land, and the people in their distress cried to Pharaoh for bread. Had it not been for Joseph, all in Egypt would have died of hunger. There would not have been any bread for the weak old men and women, nor for the little babies. Pharaoh him- self and all his great men might have died, and none of the magicians would have been wise enough to show how food could be got. But Joseph had stored up so much that now he was able to give food to all. For seven years he fed all the people of the great land of Egypt, and had enough besides to sell to men w r ho came from other countries, for the famine was very grievous in other places. Joseph did not give the corn to the people of Egypt, but sold it to them. First he took money, then horses and cattle, and then he gave corn in exchange for the land owned by the Egyptian people. He removed them from the open country to cities, where they could live without the cattle he had bought. He did not take the land belonging to the priests, but gave them food, and allowed them to keep the lands which had been given them by Pharaoh. The people had great respect for Joseph's wisdom, but perhaps they thought it hard at first that he should take their land and cattle ; but he gave the land back, with seed to sow on it, and the}' were to keep for themselves four parts of all that was grown, the other being given to Pharaoh. That fifth part he took for the king, in payment for food in the seven years of famine. JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 77 While Joseph was thus ruling so wisely over Egypt, his father Jacob was alive. In the place where he dwelt the famine was felt, and there was but little food for his family and for the cattle, sheep, and goats. Jacob heard that in Egypt there was plenty of corn, and that the chief man of the country was selling it to any who wished to buy. He therefore told his elder sons to go down to Egypt and get food, "that we may live and not die." He sent them all except Benjamin, his youngest, Joseph's brother, for he could not bear to part with him, and feared the dangers of the long journey. The ten brothers reached Egypt and went to Joseph to ask him to sell them some corn. They could not know that the great Egyptian ruler, so grand and powerful, surrounded by high officers, wearing rich robes and riding in a fine chariot, was the brother whom they had cast into a pit and sold to the merchants many years before ; but he knew them well. There was his eldest brother Reuben, who had sometimes been kinder to him than the others, and there was Judah who had proposed to kill him, and who had taken the lead in selling him. He remembered, too, the dreams of his boyhood, and as the ten men bowed before him, he saw how they had been fulfilled. He would not make himself known to his brothers, but desired to hear from them whether his father yet lived. So he spoke roughly, and said they were spies, come " to see the nakedness of the land." They denied that they were spies, and, to show who they were, they told Joseph that they were the sons of a man in the land of Canaan, ten brothers of a family of twelve, of whom, said they, " the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not." Little did they think when they said " one is not," meaning Joseph, of whom they had not heard for so many years, and whom perhaps they supposed to be dead, that he was at that moment listening to what they said! Joseph still pretending to believe that they were spies, put them into prison for three days, and told them that, to prove that they were not spies, they must bring to him their young brother, and that one of them must remain there until Benjamin came. In their trouble — for they feared that nothing would make Jacob part with his youngest son whom he loved so dearly — they thought of their cruelty to Joseph, of his tears and prayers for mercy, and of their hard-heartedness. Reuben reproached the others, and reminded them how he had tried 78 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. to protect Joseph, and they would not hear him ; therefore, he said, " his blood is required," meaning that the Lord was now punishing them for their sin. They did not know that Joseph well understood what they said, for he had not spoken to them in the Hebrew language, but through an interpreter; but he heard all, and unable to conceal his feelings .when his brothers spoke of their cruelty in the wilderness, he went away and wept in secret. When he came back he again looked sternly, and told them that Simeon must stay behind, but they might buy corn and go back to their father, re- turning with Benjamin, when Simeon should be set free. They paid for corn and loaded their but on their way asses, back they found that the money each of them had paid had been put back into his sack. Joseph had ordered this to be done, for he would not take money for his brothers' food, and in that way re- turned good for evil. JACOB'S SONS IMPRISONED BY JOSEPH AS SPIES. They ^ & strange story to tell their father, who could not be persuaded to consent to Benjamin's going to Egypt. In vain Reuben, the eldest, promised that he would take care of him ; but Jacob only said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone; if mischief befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave." JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 79 But the food the brothers had brought was soon eaten, and once more they and their cattle were almost starving. Again poor, sorrowing old Jacob was urged to let Benjamin go, and at last he gave way, with tears, praying, "God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother and Benjamin." When they reached Egypt Joseph had a feast made, and gave orders that they should dine with him. They were much afraid that he might think they had stolen the money which was found in their sacks, for they did not know that he had caused it to be put there; but he said kindly, " Your God, and the God of your fathers hath given you treasure in your sacks ; I had your money." He asked them about their father; and when he saw Benjamin he could not hide his feelings, but went into his own chamber and wept for joy that he had again seen his mother's son. Coming back, having washed his face so that they might not see the marks of his tears, he had food set before them, especially before Benjamin, who had five times as much given him as any of the others. They left Egypt joyfully enough, for Simeon was with them, and Benjamin was safe; but they soon had fresh cause of distress. Joseph ordered his steward not only again to put the money in the sacks with the food, but to put into Benjamin's sack also the silver cup out of which he himself drank, and to follow them, and when they were some distance on the road to charge them with taking the cup. He did so, and searched the sacks, and there, in Benjamin's sack, was found the cup. They were taken back, and then Joseph pretended to be very angry, and said the one in whose sack the cup was found must remain behind and be his servant, but the rest might go back. The brothers were full of trouble; they felt that they dared not return to Jacob without Benjamin; and Judah begged Joseph to let him go. He told him how dearly the lad was loved by his father, that the loss would kill him, and offered to stay- behind in his stead and be a slave in his place. While he spoke Joseph's heart was full ; he thought of the poor old father sorrowing for the loss of his two darling sons, and he could keep his secret no longer. Sending away all his officers and guards, he wept aloud, and then told his brothers who he was, how he had been treated, 'and how he had prospered in the land. " It was not you," he said, " that sent me hither, but God." 80 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. He bade them return and tell his father to come to him, with all his flocks and herds, and children's children, and they should have a home in Goshen, a fine land, a part of Egypt. Pharaoh soon heard that Joseph had found his brothers, and was well pleased. He gave them wagons and treasure, and Joseph sent to his father asses laden with the good things of Ejjypt. What joyful lews for Jacob, in the land of Canaan ! although he could scarcely believe it at first; but when his sons told him what Joseph had said, his spirit revived, and he said, " It is enough, Joseph my son is yet alive ; I will go and see him before I die." In a vision, God told him to go without fear, for the Lord would be with him, and would bring him safely back. So Jacob, and all that were with him, left Beer- sheba and went to Goshen, where he met Joseph. And what a meeting it must have been, the fond father seeing again his son whom he had mourned as dead, and the good son embracing the father whom JOSEPH BECOMING KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN. -^ loyed SQ wdl , p Woll saw Jacob and spoke kindly to him, and the old man — lie was then a hundred and thirty years of age — blessed the king. Seventeen years longer he lived happily in Egypt, and his sons and their children became rich. When he felt that death was near, he called Joseph and asked him to promise that he should not be buried in Egypt, but that he might be laid in the grave of his fathers. JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. 81 He asked for Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and blessed them. Manasseh being the eldest, Joseph led him to the right hand of Jacob, but Jacob placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and his left on that of Manasseh. Joseph was rather vexed at this; and, thinking his father had made a mis- take, for his eyes were dim with age so that he could not see, took his hand and tried to place it on the head of the elder lad, telling Jacob that was the first-born. The dying man would not change his hands, but said, " I know it, my son, I know it ; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he." When he had blessed Ephraim and Ma- nasseh, he blessed Joseph, whom he had always loved so well, and who had been such a good son ; told him that he had left him a larger share of his possessions than any of his brothers would have, and made a pro- phecy, Which was fulfilled J AC0B BLESSING THE SONS OF JOSEPH. several hundred years afterwards in the time of Moses — "Behold, I die; but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.'' Then he called his sons round him, and prophesied regarding them and their children, and having again asked that he might be buried in the cave of Machpelah, " gathered up his feet into the bed," and died. 6 82 MOSES IN EGYPT. He was buried in great state, for not only all his sons, but the great officers of Pharaoh's kingdom, followed the body to Canaan, making a great mourning, so that the people of the land named the place to which they brought the body, Abel mizraim, "the mourning of the Egyptians." When the}'' returned, Joseph's brothers feared that he might now remember the evil they had done him ; but he forgave them freely, and " spake kindly unto them." A hundred and ten years old was the great and good Joseph when he died. In all the land of Egypt there was none more honored, but, like his father, he desired to be buried in his own land, and his last words were, " Ye shall carry my bones from hence." Before he died he repeated the prophecy which his father Jacob had made, that God would bring his people out of Egypt " unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob." His body was embalmed, that is, preserved by an art which the Egyptians practised, so that it would not decay ; and the Israelites, who had so much reason to hold him in remembrance, kept the body throughout all their troubles and wanderings for hundreds of years, until they reached the Promised Land, where he was buried, as he had desired, in the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been buried. MOSES IN EGYPT. MANY years passed away. Joseph was dead, and all his brothers. A new generation of Israelites now lived in Egypt ; they were very many ; the country was full of them. A new king was reigning, who did not know Joseph ; and he .was very cruel, and hated the Israelites, and wished to kill them all. He commanded them to do very hard work in the fields, and in making brick ; and their cruel masters beat them, and were very unkind to them. And did they die when the king gave them all this hard work, which made them so weak and tired ? No, because God kept them ; and therefore nothing could hurt them ; they grew and multiplied more and more. And why did God care for them so much ? Because he had promised Abraham, many years before, that his children should be like the sand for multitude, and like the stars in the sky, which we cannot count. God never forgets his promises, nor his people who love and serve him. MOSES IN EGYPT. 83 But God had promised Jacob to bring bis children home to Canaan y and now they were far off from their possessions ; — had not God forgotten this promise ? No : we read that he told Abraham, that his children should go to a strange country, and be afflicted here till the end of 400 years.. God knew the time ; soon the 400 years would be over, then the Israelites, would be sent home to their own land again. But Pharaoh, the cruel king, did not know God, and he tried again and again to destroy the Israelites. He commanded every little Israelitish boy that was born, to be thrown into the river and drowned. The poor mothers loved their dear children, and cried bitterly about this cruel,, wicked law; but the king had no pity, and many of the little boys were thrown into the river and drowned. But God loved those children ; and when they died he took their souls to be with him in heaven. There was a woman of the family of Levi, who loved God, and her husband too was a good man. God gave them a little boy. The parents loved this dear child, and tried to save him from the cruel king. For three months the mother hid her child, that he might not be drowned ; but when he grew older and larger she could not hide him any longer. But she knew God could keep her little boy, if she could not, and she told all her sorrow to him. God can help us when we are in trouble, and he can take care of us when our dearest friends cannot ; and he was pleased now to help this poor Woman who trusted in him, and to take care of her little child. The mother gathered some reeds, and platted them into a little basket or ark ; and then she took her dear child, and put him into the ark, and carried him to the river. Did she throw him in ? No, she laid him gently among the high grass and reeds, by the side of the river. She could take care of him no more, so she gave him up to God,, 1 who alone could keep him ; but she left Miriam, her little girl, to watch, near her brother. Soon she saw some people coming ; who were they ? They were ladies ; one was the cruel king's daughter, and the others were her maids ; and they walked along by the river, for the princess was going to bathe. They did not see Miriam ; she was a little way off, but she could see them, and hear all they said. The king's daughter soon saw the ark among the reeds, and she sent her maid to fetch it. The maid ran and took up the ark, and brought it to her mistress 84 MOSES IN EGYPT. and opened it. Pharaoh's daughter was not like her cruel father; she pitied the poor babe, and said, " It is one of the Hebrew children." When Miriam heard the kind lady speak, she went up to the princess, and said, ''Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the child for thee?" Pharaoh's daughter said, " Go." Then Miriam ran home, and told her mother about the kind lady who wished to save the dear babe ; and asked her mother to come and nurse it. Miriam and her mother went back to Pha- raoh's daughter, and the kind princess said, " Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will pay thee thy wages." The mother brought him home and nursed him, and he grew; and when he was a little older she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter again. The princess loved the child ; and she said, " He shall be my son, and I will name him Moses (or, drawn out), because I drew hirr> out of the water." \ How kind God i.- to those who love and THE FINDING OF MOSES. pray tQ him , He heard this mother's prayer and saved her child from a cruel death. And God loves to save children now. He keeps them when they are in their cradles ; he keeps them when they run about, and gives them health, and strength and all they have. Jesus says, " It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS MOSES BRINGING WATER FROM THE ROCK Ex. 17 : 5—6 ; Num. 20 : 9—10: Psalm 7S : 15—20 : I Cor. 10:1 MOSES IN EGYPT. 85 Pharaoh's daughter loved Moses, and she told the wise men of Egypt to teach him all they knew ; for she wished Moses to be wise. The Egyptians knew many things and had much wisdom ; but not the best wisdom ; they did not know nor worship the true God. They worshipped animals ; bulls, and sheep, and dogs, and cats, and crocodiles, and insects. . But the Israelites who lived in Egypt remembered the God of their fathers r Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob ; and the mother of Moses, no doubt, taught: him holy things, true wisdom, when he was a very little boy ; and she prayed for him that he might be kept from sin, and that he might love and serve the Lord. And God heard her prayer ; and taught Moses by the Holy Spirit, that riches and worldly things could not make him happy, nor save his soul : that God alone could keep him from sin ; and that he could be saved only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who should at a future time come down from heaven and die for sinners. Pharaoh's daughter called him her son, and wished to give him great riches ; but Moses did not wish to be rich : he chose " rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." St. John says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." If we love pleasure, or riches, or power, or sin, more than we love God, we cannot be his children. We must give him all our thoughts, all our affections, all our love. Jesus said to his disciples, " Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal ; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." When Moses was grown up he went to visit his brethren the Israelites, who were suffering so much in Egypt. One day he saw an Egyptian cruelly beating an Israelite; they were alone, but God's eye was upon them. God saw the wicked Egyptian and the poor Israelite, and sent Moses to help his suffering brother. Moses ran to the two men and saved the Israelite and killed the Egyptian, and hid the body in the sand. The next day Moses went out again, and saw two men fighting. Were the}?' Egyptians ? No, they were both Israelites. Moses was grieved to see them so wicked : for God's people ought to be kind and gentle ; brothers ought to love one another. So Moses went to them and tried to make peace between them. But the one who did the wrong would not 86 MOSES IN EGYPT. attend to Moses; and said, " Who sent thee to be a judge? Wilt thou kill me as thou killedst the Egyptian 3^esterday?" When Moses heard this he was very much afraid, for he thought the people knew what he had done ; and the king might be angry and seek to kill him. So Moses fled from Egypt and went to Midian and sat down by a well. As he sat there some young women came to the well to water their sheep ; and Moses helped them and drew water for them. When they went home they told their father how kind Moses had been : their father's name was Jethro ; and when he heard about Moses he sent for him, and gave him food, and asked him to live with him in Midian. Moses did so ; and some time after he mar- ried one of Jethro's daugh- ters, who was named Zip- porah. Moses had not now the riches of Egypt, which he had when he lived at the king's house ; he was a poor man, keeping Jethro's sheep in the wilderness. MOSES DEFENDING THE DAUGHTERS OF JETHRO. But Moses knew ^ Qod would take care of him ; and he loved God better than all the fine things in Egypt. But did God forget the Israelites, when Moses was gone? No; he heard their cry, and remembered his promise to Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. " God looked upon the children of Israel." We may be sure that MOSES IN EGYPT. 87 God's eye is always upon us : lie knows all our sorrows, and sees all our tears, and, in due time, he will comfort and deliver us, if we trust in him. One day, Moses was keeping Jethro's sheep by Mount Horeb. As tie sat there quietly and alone, he thought often of his poor brethren suffering in Kgypt, and he asked God to help and deliver them. Moses had much faith ; he knew that God had power to save the Israelites, and he be- lieved that he would save them at the right time. While Moses was think- ing of all this, he saw a bright light shining near him ; and he looked up, and saw a bush burning with fire. But the bush was not consumed; it did not wither away ; the leaves and branches did not turn black, and crumble to pieces ; and Moses won- dered very much, and said, u Why is not the bush con- sumed ? I will go and see." So Moses went to look; but when he came near, he heard a voice out of the bush, saying, " Moses, Moses." Who called him? M0SES AT THE burning bush. What made the bush burn, and why was it not consumed? The voice said again, " The place -where thou standest is holy ground. I am God ; the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." "Then Moses hid his face; for le was afraid to look upon God." But the Lord did not come to hurt his servant ; he came to comfort 88 MOSES IN EGYPT. him, and to make him and his poor brethren happy. The Lord said, " I have seen my people's sorrow; I have heard their cry.- I am come to send thee to Pharaoh : and thou shalt bring my people out of Egypt." But Moses was very much afraid, and said, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh ? " It was not right of Moses to be afraid when God sent him ; he ought to have obeyed directly ; but the Lord was very kind and gentle, and he spoke again to comfort Moses. He said, "I will be with thee; tell the people that I sent thee. If the king disobey my command, I have power to punish him; and I will send plagues upon Egypt, and bring out my people safely." But Moses was still unwilling to go, and said, " Perhaps the people will not believe me." The Lord then told him to throw his rod upon the ground. Moses obeyed, and it became a serpent ; and he fled from it for fear. But the Lord said, "Take it by the tail;" and Moses caught it, and it did not bite nor hurt him, but became a rod again in his hand directly. Then God told Moses to put his hand into his bosom. Moses obeyed, and his hand became covered with leprosy ; but God told him to put his hand again into his bosom, and in a moment it was well. Then God told him to go and show these wonders to the people ; that they might believe that he had sent him. Was Moses willing to go to Egypt now ? No ; he was still afraid. He said, " Lord, I cannot speak well ; my tongue is slow, and I have no words." But the Lord said, "Who hath made man's mouth ? Who maketh. the deaf, and the dumb, and the seeing, and the blind? Have not I, the Lord ? Go ; obey m}^ command, and I will teach thee what thou shalt say." But still Moses wished not to go. Then the Lord began to be angry ; for though he is very kind and patient with his people, yet he does not like them to disobey his commands, nor to obey slowly and unwil- lingly. But the Lord said to Moses, " Aaron thy brother may go with thee ; he can speak well ; and I will teach you both what you shall do." Then Moses obeyed : he was timid and fearful in himself, but the Lord gave him strength and courage ; so he went home, and took leave of Jethro, and called his wife Zipporah, and his two sons, and put them upon an ass r and returned to Egypt. Then God said to Aaron, who was living in Egypt, " Go and meet Moses." So Aaron went into the wilderness, and soon saw Moses and his family coming; and he ran and kissed him. Moses had much to tell MOSES IN EGYPT. 8* Aaron about the wonders God had shown him ; and he asked Aaron to go with him to the king, and command him to send away the Israelites. Aaron was willing to go; so they both went, and called the elders of the Israelites, and told them that God had seen their sorrows, and was going to deliver them. Then they bowed down their heads, and worshipped. Moses and Aaron went together to the king, another Pharaoh, who was now reigning in Egypt, and said, " The Lord com- mands thee to let the Israelites go." But Pha- raoh answered, " I do not know the Lord; and I will not let them go." Then the king told the Israel- ites' masters to give them more work, and the poor people were not able to finish their hard tasks in making brick ; and their cruel masters beat them, and said, " You are idle ; fulfil your work, your daily tasks." The Israelites cried to Moses, and Moses went to God, and told him all his sorrow. God knew all ; his eye was up~u them, THE ROD OF AAR0N changed into a serpent. and very soon "b^ would deliver them, and he said, " I have heard their groaning, I remember my covenant with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and I will bring my people to Canaan as I have promised." Moses wa* now eighty years old; but he was not weak and feeble, as many old m»*u are ; he was strong and powerful. God made him so, 90 MOSES IN EGYPT. because there was much for Moses to do before he died. It is God who gives us all our health aud strength ; and if we are well and strong we must not be idle. There is much for us all to do ; and we must use our health and strength for God. " Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." God now gave Mo- ses and Aaron power to do wonders, and to work miracles before Pharaoh. They went to the king; and Aaron threw down his rod before him, and it became a serpent. But Pharaoh called his wise men, and told them to try to do the same ; and they did so with their enchantments. Had they power to work miracles ? No; perhaps they might have learned to tame serpents, so as to make them look like rods in their hands; and then they might have thrown them down, as Aaron did, and thus pretended to work a miracle. But God made Aaron's rod swallow up their rods. Pharaoh did not care for this, nor did he obey the command to let Israel go ; and then God said, he would punish Pharaoh, by turning his river into blood. The river Nile is very useful in Egypt ; no rain falls there to water the ground; but in the summer, the river rises, and overflows the country, and makes the land soft, and then the people sow their seed, and the grass THE WATERS OF EGYPT CHANGED TO BEOOD. MOSES IN EGYPT. 91 and corn soon spring up. Did Pharaoh and the Egyptians thank God, who gave them the Nile to water their land? No, the Egyptians forgot God; they made their river a god, and worshipped it, and sacrificed to it. But the Nile had no power to make the country fruitful; it was God who made it, -and who swelled up its waters, and watered the land; and now he determined to punish and humble the Egyptians, and to turn their river- god into blood. God did as he said. He told Moses to go and stretch his rod over the waters; and as soon as he did so, all became blood. The ponds, and the water in the vessels, and the beautiful river, all were blood. The fish died ; the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river ; and their river-god could not help them now. Did they repent and ask God to for- give them ? No, and there- fore God sent a new pun- ishment upon them. And seven days were fulfilled, after that the Lord had smitten the river. And the Lord spake THE PI -AGUE of fr ogs. unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs : and the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the houses of thy 92 MOSES IN EGYPT. servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy knead- ing-troughs : and the frogs shall come up both on thee and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the r ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt ; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people ; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me ; when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only ? And he said, To-morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God. And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people ; they shall remain in the river only. And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh : And Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses ; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered them together upon heaps : and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said. And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said. And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and RUTH GLEANING IN THE FIELDS OF BOAZ THE SCRIBES READING THE CHRONICLES TO AHASUERUS Ezra 4 : 15 : Ezra fi : 1— 2 ; Esther 6:1; Daniel 9 : 2 MOSES IN EGYPT. 93 stand before Pharaoh ; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my peo- ple dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there: to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division be- tween my people and thy people : to-morrow shall this sign be. And the Lord did so ; and there came a griev- ous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into "his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt : the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. THE PLAGUE OF LICE. And Moses said, It is not meet so to do ; for we shall sacrifice the abomina- tion of the Egyptians to the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us ? We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as he shall command us. And Pharaoh said, I will let 94 MOSES IN EGYPT. you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness ; omy ye shall not go very far away : intreat for rue. And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to- morrow : but let not Pha- , raoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and in treated the Lord. And the Lord did accord- ing to the word of Moses ; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people ; there remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. Then the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, be- hold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep : there shall be a very grievous plague. And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt : and there shall nothing die of all that is the thildren's of Israel. THE PLAGUE OF FLIES. MOSES IN EGYPT. 95 And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, To-morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land. And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died ; but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israel- ites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go. And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you hand- fuls of ashes of the fur- nace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the fur- nace, and stood before Pharaoh ; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven : and it became a boil, breaking forthwith blains upon man and upon beast. And the the plague of murrain. magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils ; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them. And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the 96 MOSKS IN EGYPT. Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people ; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand that I may smite thee and thy people with pes- tilence ; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. As yet exaltest thou thy- self against my people, that thou wilt not let them go. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod to- ward heaven : and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along the ground, and the Lord rained hail upon the land THE PLAGUE OF BOILS AND BLAINS. of Egypt Sq there wag hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Onlv in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. MOSES IN EGYPT. 97 And Pharaoh sent and. called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time : the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail ; and I will let yon go, and ye shall stay no longer. And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail, that thou may- est know how that the earth is the Lord's. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh : for I have hard- ened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him : and that thou mayest tell in the ears cf thy son, and of thy son's son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them ; that ye may know how that I am the Lord. And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me ? Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold to-morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast : and they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth : and they shall eat the residue 7 THE PLAGUE OF HAIL. 98 MOSES IN EGYPT. of that which is escaped, which remaiueth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the .field : and they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians ; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself and went out from Pharaoh. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out* thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt and the Lord brought an east wind upon the laud all that day and all that, night ; and when it was morning the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt : very grievous were they: before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened ; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left ; and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt. THE PLAGUE OF LOCUSTS. MOSES IN EGYPT. 99 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste ; and he said, I nave sinned against the Lord your God and against you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only. And he went out from Pharaoh and intreated the Lord. And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. But Pharaoh would not let Israel go. And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven ; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days ; they saw not one another, neither rose any from his placs for three days : but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed ; let your little ones also go with you. And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt- offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go with us ; there shall not an hoof be left behind ; for thereof must we take to serve the Lord our God ; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more ; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. And Moses said, I will see thy face again no more. And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. And the Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill ; and all the 100 MOSES IN EGYPT. first-born of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast ; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a differ- p ence between the Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee : and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you ; that my wonders may be mul- tiplied in the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memo- rial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord through- out your generations ; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Seven days shall ye eat unleav- ened bread ; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leav- DEATH OF THE FIRST-BORN OF EGYPT. ened bread from ^ firsfc day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. And in the first day there shall be an holy convocation, and in the seventh day there shall be an holy convocation to you ; no manner of work shall be done in them, save that which every man must eat, that only may be done of you. JOSEPH CAST INTO THK PIT MOSES IN EGYPT. 101 And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread ; for in this self- same day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt : therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even. Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses ; for whosoever eat- eth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congrega- tion of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land. Ye shall eat nothing leavened ; in all your habitations shall ye eat unleavened bread. Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the top beam and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin ; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians ; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you. And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the first- THE FIRST PASSOVER. 102 MOSES IN EGYPT. born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne nnto the first-born of the captive that was in the dungeon ; and all the first-born of cattle. And Pharaoh rose np in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians ; and there was a great cry in Egypt ; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel ; and go, serve the Lord as ye have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone ; and bless me also. When Moses and the Israelites left Egypt in so much haste, they did not forget Joseph's dying command, but carried his bones with them. Then they went on, and came to the Red Sea. But when Pharaoh heard they were gone, he commanded his servants to bring his char- iots, and his horses ; and he went with a great army to bring the people back again. He overtook them by the sea ; they were all resting in their tents ; a pillar of cloud was before them ; God gave them this pillar to show them the road by day ; and by night, he put before them a pillar of fire to give them light. They were safe under God's keeping. But soon they looked up ; and what did they see ? Pharaoh and THE ISRAELITES DEPARTING FROM EGYPT. MOSES IN EGYPT. 103 the Egyptians coming after them very quickly, with their chariots and horses. The Israelites cried to the Lord, and said to Moses, " Why hast thou brought us away from Egypt? We shall die, now, here in this wilderness ! " They forgot that God was still with them ; but Moses said, "Fear not; be still, and the Lord will fight for you." Then the Lord com- manded the people to go on. But where could they go ? The great sea was before them, and there was no bridge to go over, and no ships to carry them across. What could they do ? God knew ; he could €nd a way for them to escape. The pillar which was before them, moved behind; it stood now be- tween the Israelites and the Egyptians ; but the side next the Israelites was bright, to give them light; and the side next the Egyptians was dark and cloudy, so that they could not see to do the Israelites any hurt all that night. Then God told Moses to stretch his rod over the sea ; and the Lord sent a very strong wind to blow brack's host overwhelmed in the sea. back the water ; and in the morning there was a dry road through the sea, and the waters stood like a wall on each side. Who did this wonder? Not Moses, not his rod, not the strong wind alone ; — it was God, God who has power to do all things. The Israelites walked through the sea, all of them, on dry ground ; not one was drowned, for God held back the waters till they were all gone over safely. 104 MOSES IN EGYPT. Then the Egyptians tried to pursue them, and went in after them; but God looked angrily at them through the pillar, and made them fear,, and took off the wheels of their chariots. And then he told Moses to stretch his rod over the sea, and the waters came back again upon Pharaoh, and his army, and his servants, and chariots, and horses, and they were all drowned. In the morning, the Israelites saw all their enemies lying dead upon the sea-shore. The Egyptians could hurt them no more now ; their bodies were cold and dead, and their souls were gone to be judged by God, whom they had rebelled against and disbelieved. " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." The Israelites thanked God, and sang praises to him ; and Miriam and the women prayed and danced for joy. Then they went on into the wilderness of Shur. They wandered there three days, and found no water. At last they came to Marah, and there was water; but the water was bitter, and they could not drink it. Then the people were discontented again, and said to Moses, "What shall we drink?" Was this right? No; the Israelites were discontented and unbelieving people. They knew God had power to give them water if he pleased; and they knew that they ought to be patient if he gave them none; he had done many wonderful things for them, and he could do as many more; but they forgot his kindness, and were impatient, and angry, and discontented. Moses was sorry to find the people doing wrong again so soon. He could not comfort them ; he could not make the water good ; but he remembered who could, and he cried to the Lord. And did God attend to Moses? Yes; he did not forget his distressed people. Moses "cried unto the Lord ; and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet." Was there any wonderful power in this tree? No, the power was in God; the tree could do no good without him. God taught his people how great his power is, because he wished them to trust in him, and to feel safe and happy in his keeping. We ought all to trust him. He knows what is best for us; and, if we are his people, we are safe in all places, and may have comfort in all our sorrows. We can all do some- thing towards sweetening the lives of the poor, the troubled, and the wretched. Kind words and deeds are the tree that will make the bitter waters sweet; and the young can do this as well as the old. THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. "X "^ T~HEN God sweetened the bitter waters of Marah, he spoke kindly \ \ to the Israelites, and said, "If you will obey me, and do what is right, then I will be with you, and keep, and bless, and strengthen you ; and I will not send any of those diseases and plagues upon you, which I sent upon the Egyptians." Then they were comforted, and went on to Elim, and there they found twelve wells of water, and many date palm trees ; and they pitched their tents there. They were very glad to see these trees. The fruit is very pleasant and refreshing to poor tired wanderers in the wilderness; the trees on which it grows can live in these hot places, and water is always found near the date trees. When the Israelites went away from Elim, they came into another wilderness, the Desert of Sin. Then they began to be discontented ; and they murmured again, and said, " We shall die of hunger, for there is no food here. When we were in Egypt, we had plenty ; but now, we have nothing ; why did you bring us here ? " How unthankful these people were ! God had delivered them from their cruel masters, and brought them safely through the sea ; and he had given them sweet water to drink, and promised always to take care of them ; and yet they would not trust him. Moses went again to God, and told him all his sorrows, and all that the people said. Then God answered, " I have heard their murmurings • go, and tell them, I will give them flesh to-night to eat ; and in the morn- ing I will give them bread." Where could they find flesh? Must they kill all their flocks and herds ? No ; God sent them some birds called quails, which came in great numbers, and covered the tents ; and the Israelites caught, and killed, and ate them in the evening. And was this all God gave them ? No ; in the morning, when the dew was gone, the Israelites saw the ground covered with a little round thing, white like frost. It was new to all the people, and they came out and looked, and wondered, and asked, "What is it?" Nobody knew; but Moses said, " This is the bread God has given you to eat." How wonderful was this ! God sent this sweet bread to feed his people in the wilderness, where there was no corn for them to eat. The Israelites called the new food which God sent, manna; it was sweet and nice, like honey. Moses said, " You must gather the manna 105 106 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. fresh every morning. God promises to send it every day ; but you must not keep it till the next morning. Every one of you must gather an omer full , but the day before the Sabbath, you must gather two omers full, and keep one of them for the Sabbath ; for God will send no manna on the Sabbath day." Some of the people would not believe Moses ; they determined to try and keep the manna till the morrow, and see if it would be good. But, in the morn- ing, when the people looked at the manna they had kept, they found that it was full of worms, and smelt badly ; they could not eat it, but threw it away. And did not the manna saved for the Sab- bath become bad ? No ; because God kept it good ; he did not wish his Holy Sabbath to be broken, and he had power to keep the manna fresh and sweet if he pleased. But there were some more disobedient peo- ple who would not believe Moses, nor attend to God's command. They went out on the Sabbath day to gather manna. Did they find it? No: God did not send any, and they went home again empty; and God was angry with them for their disobedience. The Sabbath is not a day on which we ought to do any work. It is God's day ; he kindly gave it to us, that we might have more time to \ttend to our souls, and to think of God, and death, and judgment, and THE ISRAELITES GATHERING MANNA. THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 107 heaven, and hell. We should not think much of our food on this holy day ; we should prepare it the day before, as God told the Israelites to do. We have our food from God, as they had. It is not rained down from heaven, because God does not now work miracles ; and we live in a country where there is plenty of corn to make bread. But God only sends down rain from heaven to make the corn grow, and he makes the sun shine to ripen it. He alone can cause the grass to spring up, and give food to the beasts of the field. We must pray, "Give us day b}^ day our daily bread." And when we eat it, we must thank God who gave it, and not wish for more nor better food than he sends. The Israelites now went on, through the wilderness of Sin, to Rep- hidim. How did they know the way ? God went before them in the pillar of cloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night. When the pillar stopped, they stopped ; and when the pillar moved, they moved, and followed it wherever it went. While we live, we are like the Israelites, travelling in the wilderness ; but, if we are God's people, we need not fear, because he is always by us. He does not go before us in a pillar of cloud and fire ; but his hand is always over us to guide and keep us, and his eye sees us wherever we are. We must pray God to lead us in the right way, in the way to heaven. There was no water at Rephidim ; and the people murmured again, and were very angry with Moses, and very unthankful to God. Then Moses cried to God, and he heard the prayer. God told him to go to Mount Horeb, and strike the rock ; and he promised that then water should come out. Moses obeyed God, and struck the rock, and water came out. It was God's power that did this miracle; not Moses, nor the rod, but God alone, could bring water out of the rock. There were some wicked people, who lived not far from this wilder- ness, called Amalekites, and now they came to fight with Israel, in Rephi- dim. Moses called Joshua his servant, and said to him, " Choose men, and go and fight with the Amalekites ; and I will go up to the top of the mountain, with the rod of God in my hand." So Joshua and the soldiers went to fight ; and Moses and Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. What did they do there ? Moses held up his hand, with the rod of God in it, and prayed God to give the Israelites power to conquer their enemies. God heard Moses pray, and put strength into the soldiers' hands, and gave them power over their enemies. 108 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. But Moses was tired of holding up his hands ; they were heavy, and fell down, and then the Amalekites became strong, and the Israelites became weak. But Aaron and Hur took a large stone, and put it under Moses, and he sat upon it ; and Aaron and Hur held up his hands all the day till the sun went down. And God blessed the Israel- itish soldiers ; they con- quered their enemies, and drove all the wicked Ama- lekites away. The Israelites now came into the wilderness of Sinai, and pitched their tents before the mountain. Moses went up into the mountain, and God talked to him there. God said, " Go, and tell the Israelites what wonderful things I have done for them, in saving them from the Egyp- tians, and bringing them here. They are my own people; and if they will love and obey me, I will keep them always, and give them all they want; and they shall be my children, and I will be their Father." Moses told the people what God said, and they all answered, VICTORY OF THE ISRAELITES OVER AMALEK. u y^ Q w ^j ^ ^ T^j.^" Then God said again to Moses, " Go, and tell the people to make themselves ready for the third day : for then I will come down upon the mountain to speak to them. They shall not go up, nor touch the moun- tain ; whoever touches it shall be put to death. When the trumpet sounds, they shall come up to the mount." The people obeyed; they all washed THE FINDING OF MOSES THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 109 their clothes, and made themselves ready for the third day. Why? Because God was coming, the holy God ; the people were to remember how great and wonderful he is, and how weak and sinful they were; and to come before God with reverence. In the morning, the Israelites looked towards the mountain ; a thick black cloud was over it ; and fire, and smoke, and lightning came out of the mountain, and all the ground shook. The people were very much frightened; but the trumpet sounded, and then Moses brought them all out, and made them stand round the mountain. The trumpet sounded louder and louder, and Moses spoke, and God's voice answered him. Then the Lord came down on Mount Sinai, and called Moses ; and Moses went up. God said, " Tell the people again, not to touch the mountain ; but thou shalt come up, and Aaron with thee." Then Moses went down, and told them. It was a very fearful thing to see the great mountain smoking, and the fire and lightning coming out of the thick black darkness. Why was it so fearful ? Because God was there ; the holy, powerful God ; God who cannot look upon sin, and who has power to punish all those who disobey him. " Our God is a consuming fire." The Israelites trembled before him; and we must tremble too, if we have not been washed from our sins in the blood of Jesus. We have no power to escape ; we cannot save ourselves from the anger of a holy God ; but if we believe in Jesus, we are safe. We need not fear then, because God promises to accept all those who come to Jesus alone for salvation. " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." When the Israelites saw the lightning, and the blackness of the mountain, and heard the thunders, and the loud trumpet, they were very much afraid, and moved away from the mountain, and stood afar off. They said to Moses, " Speak thou to us, and we will hear ; but let not God speak to us, lest we die." But Moses said, "Fear not; God is come to prove you, and to tell 3'ou what you ought to do, that you may learn to know and serve him aright, that his blessing may be upon you." We are all poor, helpless sinners before God ; our own obedience cannot take us to heaven, for we have disobeyed God many times. How then can we go to heaven? Jesus Christ alone can take us there. He bore the pun- ishment of our sins upon the cross, and his blood can cleanse us : he was perfectly holy, he kept all the commandments ; and, if we believe in him, God will accept us for his righteousness' sake. 110 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. But we must try to be like Jesus ; we must wish and strive to be holy. We must ask him for all these things, that -we may be made his own dear children by faith in Christ Jesus. And then we need not fear; because God has promised to save all who believe ; and we shall not tremble at the day of judgment, when we stand before his throne, because, if our sins have all been washed away in Jesus' blood, and our hearts made new and clean by the Holy Spirit, we shall hear our Saviour say, " Come, ye blessed ; " and we shall be taken up to heaven, away from sin and sorrow for ever. When God had finished speaking, Moses came and told the people all he had said, and they answered, " We will obey the Lord ; we will do what he commands us." Then Moses wrote all the words of God : and the Israelites offered sacrifices unto the Lord. Moses read the book of the law to the people, and they said again, " All that the Lord hath said, we will do, and be obedient." Then Moses and Aaron, and some of the elders of Israel, went up towards the mountain, and there they saw an appearance of the bright glory of God; but this could not hurt them, because God kept them safely ; and they stayed there before him, and did eat and drink. Then God told Moses alone to come up to him, to receive the tables of stone upon which God had written the Ten Commandments. Moses waited six days upon the mountain, with Joshua his servant ; and then God called to him out of the cloud, and Moses went up, and was there in the mount forty days and forty nights. Moses was not afraid to be with God, because he was his father and his friend. We have no need to fear, when our sins are forgiven, and when we are at peace with God through Jesus Christ. What did God say to Moses when he was in the mountain ? He gave him many directions about the tabernacle which the Israelites were to make, where God was to be worshipped ; and about the sacrifices, and priests, and the holy things which we shall soon read about ; and then he gave Moses the two tables of stone, written with the finger of God. The people waited a long time for Moses, and wondered he did not come down to them, and then they began to be tired and impatient, and they went to Aaron and said, " Moses is gone away ; we do not know what is become of him ; make gods for us, and they shall go before us." Did Aaron tell them how wicked and disobedient they were ? No ; Aaron sinned too, and let the people sin. He told them to give him their THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. Ill golden earrings which were in their ears ; so they brought them to Aaron, and he made them into a golden calf. Then the people said, " These be the gods who brought us up from Egypt;" and Aaron built an altar, and offered sacrifices to the calf, and made a feast ; and the people ate and drank, and played before the image. The}r had soon for- gotten the holy command of God, which he spoke to them from the mount, "Thou shalt not make any graven image." They had forgotten their own promise, which they made to Moses, " We will obey the Lord." They had forgotten to ask God's help to teach them to serve him. But did not God see ? Was not he angry ? Yes ; he saw all ; for his eyes are in every place ; he knew when he was talking to his ser- vant Moses what his dis- obedient people were doing; and he said to Moses, "Go down; the people have forgotten me, and they have made a golden calf, and worship it. I am angry with these disobe- dient people; I will de- worshipping the golden calf. stroy them ; but I will keep thee, and make of thee a great nation." But Moses prayed God to forgive these sinful people, and to remember his servants Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and his promises to them. Then God heard Moses' prayer, and did not destroy them all. So Moses took the tables in his hands and went down again to> 112 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. Joshua. Joshua said, "There is a noise in the camp;" but he did not know what the noise was. Moses listened, and said, ," It is a singing that I hear;" and when they came near, they saw the golden calf, and the people playing, and dancing, and singing before it. Then Moses was angry, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and broke them under the mountain. Why was he angry ? To see that these people had so soon forgotten their kind God, and their own promise to love and serve him. They were helpless sinners, and we are so too. When we trust to our own strength and goodness, and forget to ask for the Holy Spirit to help and teach us, we are as forgetful of God, as unthankful, and as wicked as these Israelites were. Let us pray to God every day to keep us from sin, and to enable us to live always in his fear and love. Then the Lord told Moses to come up again into the mountain, and to bring with him two tables of stone, like the first tables which he broke. Moses obeyed, and went up to Mount Sinai very early in the morning ; and God came down in a cloud, and stood near him, and talked to him. Moses could not see the bright glory of the Lord ; no living man can see that ; but in heaven we shall see him face to face, and behold his glory for ever. God passed by Moses, as he stood on the mountain, and spoke with a loud voice. What did he say? He told Moses what a good, and kind, and gracious God he is ; a God who loves to forgive, and who saves all who come to him in faith ; but a very holy God too ; a God that cannot look on sin, and who punishes all those who will not repent and turn to him. When Moses heard God speak, he fell down and worshipped ; and asked that great and holy God to forgive his sins, and the sins of the Israelites, and to make them his own people, and to keep and save them for ever. And did God hear the prayer? Yes, he promised to keep the Israelites still ; and to give them the good land of Canaan, if they would obey and serve him, and no more make and worship the idols which the people around them served and worshipped. Moses staid in the mountain again forty days ; he neither ate nor drank, but God had power to keep him without food : and Moses was happy with his God, and loved to be there. God gave him many com- mands about what the people must do, and what they must not do; and he wrote again the ten commandments upon the new tables. When God had finished speaking, Moses came down from the mountain ; and the THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 113 people looked at him, and saw that his face was bright and shining ; and they feared to come near to him. What made Moses' face shine? The bright glory of God, which rested upon him while he talked to him in the mountain. When Moses saw that it was painful for the people to look at him, he took a veil, and covered his face, and then spoke to them ; but when Moses spoke to God he put off the veil. Moses told the peo- ple all the commands of God, and showed them the new tables ; and he spoke to them about the Sabbath, the holy day of God, when they must do no work, because it is a day of rest, holy to the Lord. Then he told them about the tabernacle which God com- manded them to make, where they were to worship him ; and Moses asked them to bring their gold, and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and the skins of animals, and beautiful stones ; these things were to help to make the tabernacle, and all which was to be in it. The people were glad to bring their riches for the service of God ; and many of them were very busy and industrious in this good work. The women spun hair for the " curtains, and the men worked the stones, and the gold, and silver; all tried to do something. There was a man named Bezaleel, who was very wise in many 8 MOSES AND THE TABLES OF THE EAW. 114 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. curious works, in cutting stones and carving wood. This man loved God, and he was very glad he could do something in his service. He made all the things for the tabernacle, and taught other men to help him, that the work might be done quicker. The tabernacle was mads of boards, with bars put across ; and these boards and bars were made of shittimwood covered with gold. At the entrance there were no boards, but five pillars of shittim wood cov- ered with gold. Within the tabernacle, under the upper end, were four more pillars ; a beautiful covering, called the vail, was hung over them ; and this hid the inside, which was the most holy place, " the Holy of Holies." None could go in there but the High Priest; and he went only once a year. In the Holy of Ho- lies was placed the ark. The ark was a chest or box made of shittim wood, covered with gold ; and there were rings in the sides, for poles to be put in when the ark was moved. The top of the ark was called the Mercy-seat ; two golden angels, called Cherubim, were placed one on each side the Mercy-seat ; they looked over it, and their wings covered the top. In the ark were afterwards kept the tables of the commandments, Aaron's rod, and a golden pot full of manna, which God commanded to be THE LAYER OF BRASS. THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 115 put there. Outside the vail was the altar on which incense was burnt, the table on which the hoi}- bread, called shew-bred, was placed, and the great gold candlestick. The tabernacle stood in a large open court ; pillars of brass surrounded it, and curtains were hung upon thein. The brazen altar for burn t-offe rings, and the great laver where the priests washed, stood in this court. There were coverings and curtains to the tabernacle and court. Over the boards of the tabernacle was thrown a covering of fine linen beautifully worked in scarlet, and purple, and bltie; over the linen, was a covering of goats' hair ; over this, a covering of rams' skins dyed red ; and another covering of thick skins over all. The people were not allowed to go into the tabernacle : but the priests went in every morning to offer incense, and every evening to light the lamps ; and on the Sabbath to take away the old shew-bred from the table and to put on new. The sacrifices were offered in the court, where the people stood. This w^as the beautiful tabernacle which God taught Moses to make for his worship. The things in it were likenesses, or types, of better and holy things. The Hol} T of Holies was a type of Heaven, that holy place which we cannot now see ; and the ark there, with the bright glory shining above it, was a type of Christ. He is now in Heaven, and the holy angels stand before him, like the Cherubim over the ark. When the High Priest went into the most Holy Place, he sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice before the Mercy-seat. Jesus is our High Priest, and he offered a sacrifice for our sins before he went into Heaven. What sacriiice did he offer ? He offered himself; he died upon the cross, and there poured out his blood, and bore the punishment of our sins. And now, like the Israelitish High Priest, he is gone into the Holy Place, not into the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle, but into Heaven of which that was the type ; and there he pleads for us before the Mercy-seat, the throne of God. When all was finished, God commanded Moses to set up the taber- nacle. Then Moses put up the boards and bars, and threw the covering over ; and took the ark and put it into the Holy Place, within the vail ; then he placed the table outside, and put the bread upon it; and near the table he placed the candlestick, and lighted up the lamps. He put the golden altar before the vail, and burnt sweet incense upon it ; but the altar of burnt-offering, and the laver, he put in the court outside. Then Moses and Aaron washed at the laver : and the hangings were put up, and all was finished. A cloud covered the tabernacle, 116 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. and the glory of the Lord filled it. The cloud was always there by day, and fire by night. When the cloud was taken up, the people journeyed ; and when it staid upon the tabernacle, then they rested in their tents. When the people were still at Sinai, after the tabernacle was set up, God spoke again to Moses, and gave him many commands about his wor- ship and service. God com- manded that Aaron and his sons should be his priests or ministers. They were brought into the taber- nacle, and there consecrated for the holy work. So now, ministers of the gospel are ordained and set apart, before they begin to teach and preach to the people. It is a holy office, and min- isters ought to think much about it, and to pray to God for his help and bless- ing ; and the people ought to pray, too, that God would give holy wisdom and power to his ministers, and make them faithful teachers of his word. All the Israelites stood at the door of the court of the tabernacle ; and Moses brought Aaron and his sons to the great laver, and there washed them with water. The water in the laver had power only to wash their bodies ; but it was a type of the blood which cleanseth from sin, and of the Spirit which sanctifies, or makes holy. Ministers should be washed in the blood of Christ, and have their hearts made clean by the Holy Spirit. THE GOLDEN CANDLESTICK. THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 117 Then Moses put upon Aaron the holy garments which God com- manded to be made ; the coat, the girdle, the robe, the ephod, the breast- plate, and the mitre. The coat was a long linen robe, with sleeves, and with a girdle worked in blue, and purple, and scarlet. The robe was a long, blue, linen gown, without sleeves ; round the bottom were golden bells, and fig- ures of pomegranates ; the bells sounded when the High Priest went into the Hol\ T Place. The ephod was a short robe, worked in blue, and purple, and scarlet and gold ; it was made of liuen, and round it was worn a beautiful girdle worked like the ephod. The breastplate was made of cloth, and was very thick. It had four rings of gold to join it to the ephod ; twelve beautiful stones were set in the breast- plate, three in a row ; there were four rows of stones, and even r stone had the name of one of the tribes of Israel written or cut upon it. The tribes of Israel were the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob. THE consecration of aaron. These stones in the breastplate were called Urini and Thummim, that is, very light, perfect and beautiful things. Aaron wore the breastplate upon his heart when he went into the Holy Place, because he was to remember the people there and pray for them to the Lord. The mitre was a linen turban, and in the front of it was a plate of 118 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. gold, on which was written, "Holiness to the Lord;" because the priests, the ministers of the Lord, must be holy in all they -do and say, wherever they are. Aaron's sous did not wear all the beautiful robes which their father wore. Only the High Priest had the ephod, and breastplate, and robe, and mitre. But Moses put upon the other priests the coat, and the girdle, and the bonnet or turban. All these holy and beautiful garments were put upon Aaron and his sons, to teach them how holy they ought to be, if they were honored to be priests and ministers of the Lord. All God's ministers, and all God's people, must be so too ; they must have on Christ's righteousness, and be renewed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, or they cannot enter into Heaven. Very soon after Aaron and his sons had been consecrated, they began their holy work. God's ministers and people must not be idle ; all have something to do for God, and it should be begun directly. The work of the priests was to offer the sacrifices, and attend to the holy services of God in the tabernacle. The sacrifice of a lamb was offered every morning and every evening. This teaches us that we need to have our sins washed away every day we live ; when we rise in the morning, and when we go to bed at night, we ought to pray for grace and pardon, and for every blessing which we want. We should thank God for all he has given us, and ask him still to give us that which he sees right we should have. This was what the Israelites were taught to do ; and if they prayed in faith, God heard their prayer, and gave them his blessing. On the Sabbath day two more lambs were offered, besides the morning and evening sacrifices. We should love to worship God every day : but we should pray to him, and think about him, more on Sunday than on other days. The Sabbath is a day of holy rest ; it belongs to God, and it must all be spent in his service. The Israelites were not allowed to do any work on God's holy day ; and we should try to be like them, and be very thankful that God has given us a Sabbath, on which we may learn to know and serve him better. In the beginning of every month, more sacrifices were to be offered; two bullocks, one ram, seven lambs, and a kid. Besides all these sacrifices, there were holy days and feasts, which God commanded to be kept. There were three feasts in the year, when God commanded all the THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 119 men of Israel to appear before him. First, The feast of the Passover, in remembrance of the angel passing over the houses of the Israelites, when he destroyed the first-born of Egypt. They were to take a lamb, and eat Egypt; it as they did in holy to the Lord. This feast was in the spring of the year. The paschal lamb was a type of Jesus Christ slain for our sins, to save our souls from destruction. Second, The feast of weeks, or Pentecost, fifty days after the Pass- over. This feast was in the summer, when the corn was reaped ; and the people were then to give some of their fruits as a thank- offering to the Lord. It is God who gives us all our blessings, and we must thank and praise him for them. The Israelites in the feast of weeks were to remember that solemn time when God gave them the law from Sinai, fifty days after they went from Egypt. It was on the feast of Pentecost that the disciples of Jesus, many and to offer sacrifices, and to keep seven days AARON OFFERING SACRIFICES. years after, met at Jerusalem, when the Holy Ghost came upon them, and gave them power to speak different languages. Third, In the autumn, the Israelites were commanded to keep another holy time. The feast began by the blowing of trumpets, to call the people to attend. A few days after, was the great dav of Atonement. Then they 120 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. were to remember their sins, and repent, and be sorry for them. No work might be done; and sacrifices were to be offered — bulls, and goats, and lambs, to teach the people that their sins must be washed away in the blood of the Great Sacrifice,, to whom they must, in faith, look for salvation and eternal life. And there are days when we should remem- ber our sins, and pray for forgiveness, too. Every day we ought to do so, but some days still more particularly. The begin- ning of the year, and our own birthdays, are very solemn times ; when we should remember our past sins, and pray earnestly to God to wash them all away in the blood of Jesus, and to give us grace to love and serve him better for the future. Five days after the day of Atonement, God commanded the Israelites to keep the feast of Tab- ernacles. This was a time of joy for seven days. THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. The Israe l ites we re to gather branches from the trees, palm trees, and willow trees, and to make booths to live in, seven days. The women and children staid at their own houses ; but the men dwelt in the booths, praising and thanking God, till the seven days were ended; and then they went home again to 'their families. The booths were not their homes; they lived in them only a short jpggr -^^ilfflll ■■-■■ Spill HlH 4 ft* ffijk. I 1 b£&i >' ; - ,: *Kv^i Hi >fr§S9c ; j li" ■Mill* -^iffffls i i^^l^ ■ 2 ' - <>\>v~" ■ ' I/' Bji. p .«ft !• I'j V ^^ *^am£i~M W*&mMk' " : I 1 •« t , r -vv^Hi-'V' Sj|^> 1 j "'<&J^&^ «wSBs=l *9^*j C"^^p^^ nm '# I i # s. ■ Hmj\ 8 - %S i -'- ■: '-=? ■1 m 1 W A ' vf ? jj"1 ':;""V \{ i §§ sifc ■■ ' -"■ ■'-'■% , |>! / / 1 # M **^#*»§ij ^^Skp-* la^^^R^^yi « Z-~Xr-~' : ~ =^3^ -'■'■'3k -Ml in iM S01 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 121 time. The Israelites were taught by this to remember the time when they lived in tents in the wilderness, and to thank God, in their pleasant houses in Canaan, for having brought them safely home. The home of God's people is above, in the Heavenly Canaan ; there they will live for ever, and go out no more ' into a world of pain, and sin, and sorrow. There were two of Aaron's sons who were priests, whose names were Nadab and Abihu. They were not humble and holy men like their father, but proud and disobedient. Without God's command, they ran into the taber- nacle, with their censers in their hands, and offered strange fire, taken from the wrong place, and burnt incense before the Lord. God was angry with this rebellion, and he sent fire upon them, which struck them dead in a moment. Aaron saw his wicked sons die. But Moses told Aaron, that God had said he would be sanctified by his priests, and that when they came before him, they must come with reverence : Nadab and Abihu had sinned, and God had punished them, and therefore Aaron and his sons were not to mourn, nor rend their clothes, but submit quietly to God. Then Aaron held his peace; he was full of sorrow; but he knew that God had done right, and humbly submitted to his will : he loved God's house, and law, THE SOXS OF AARON CONSUMED BY FIRE. 122 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. and glory, more than he loved his wicked sons, for he knew that God would not afflict him without just cause. Parents cannot give their children new hearts ; they can talk to them, and teach them, and tell them what is right, and pray for them; but they can do no more ; they cannot save them ; only God has power to do that ; and therefore the children must themselves pray that their sins ma}' be blotted out, and their hearts made new, and their souls saved; that they may follow their parents to heaven. When Nadab and Abihu were killed, God gave Aaron some new commands, that he might not make God angry, as his sons had done. The High Priest was to go into the holy place, within the vail, only once a year, on the day of Atonement ; and then he was to put on the holy garments. He was to offer a bullock for a sacrifice for his own sin, and a goat for the sins of the people, and to sprinkle the blood upon the Mercy-seat in the most holy place ; and he was to take fire from the altar, and bring it within the vail, and burn incense before the Lord. Afterwards, Aaron was to go out, and bring another goat alive : and to lay both his hands upon the goat's head, and confess his sins, and the sins of all the people, and put them upon the head of the goat. Then Aaron was to call a man, and tell him to lead the goat far away into the wilderness, that it might be seen no more. This goat was called the scape-goat. Aaron, the Jewish High Priest, was a sinner like the people, and needed his own sins to be washed away. But our great High Priest, of whom Aaron was the type, needed no sacrifice, because he was all holy. He offered up the sacrifice of himself for our sins, not for his own ; and then he went into the Holy Place, into Heaven, there to intercede for us before God. If we humbly come to Jesus, and ask him to take away our sins, he will forgive them all. God will never remember them again ; they will be gone for ever. God says to those who come in faith to Jesus : " Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." When the Israelites rested in their camp, waiting for the cloud to move, every one had his own place ; and each tribe was to keep by itself. The tribes were placed in the form of a square ; in the middle was the tabernacle and the court ; to the East, near the tabernacle, were the tents of Moses, Aaron, and the priests ; and the other Levites, the Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Merarites, pitched their tents on the South, West, and North. THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 123 They were near the tabernacle, because it was their business to take care of it ; to take it down when the camps moved, and to put it up again when they rested. The other tribes pitched their tents farther off. On the East, Issachar, Judah, and Zebulun ; on the South, Simeon, Reuben, and Gad ; on the West, Manas- seh, Ephraim, and Benja- min ; and on the North, Naphtali, Dan, and Asher. When the cloud rested, the people rested too ; but when the cloud moved, they were all to be ready for their journey. They had lived nearly a year at Mount Sinai ; and now the cloud was taken up, and they all began to move. But there was no hurry nor confusion in the camps. All was orderly ; every one knew what he had to do. First, the trumpets were sounded, and then the three tribes of the camp of Judah began to march. The tabernacle was taken down by the Levites ; the Gershonites carried the curtains, and the Merarites carried the heavy boards and bars, THE SCAPE-GOAT. and put them safely into wagons. Then the three tribes of Reuben's camp marched on ; the Kohathites followed, carrying the holy vessels of the tabernacle. Next came Ephraim's camp ; and, last of all, the camp of Dan, and all the sick and weak people who were unable to go fast. They journeyed 124 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. -wherever the cloud led them ; and when they began to move, Moses prayed God to go with them ; and when they rested,- he prayed God to stay with them. They were always under his kind care and keeping, and therefore safe wherever they went. When we journey, we should ask God to go with us too ; and if we stay quietly at home, we should ask him to be with us there. While we live in this world, we have to move often from place to place ; it is not our rest ; it is not our home ; it is like the wilderness where the Israelites wandered so many years. But there is a home above ; Heaven is like the pleasant land of Canaan which God promised to give his people. • The Lord now spoke to Moses, and told him to send twelve men, one man from every tribe, to the land of Canaan, which God promised to give to his people Israel. The twelve men were to see if the land was good or bad ; if the people there were strong or weak, few or many ; and they were to come back again, with some of the fruits of Canaan, to show to the people. The men went away, and came to Hebron, and to a place called Eshcol ; and there they found some beautiful vines, covered with fine grapes. They cut down one branch, and put it upon a pole, and two men carried it ; it was very heavy, the grapes were so many and so large. They gathered some pomegranates and figs too ; and after forty days, the spies came back again to the camp. All the people wished very much to know what the spies had seen, and to look at the beautiful fruit they had brought. The men said, " The land of Canaan is a very beautiful and fruitful country ; full of corn, and vines and honey; but we fear to go there, because the people are many, and they are stronger than we." These men forgot that God was stronger than all, and that he had promised to fight for them, and to give them the land. They had no trust, no faith in their kind God ; and they tried to frighten the people, that they might not go to the good land. But two of the spies were not like the others. Their names were Joshua and Caleb. They trusted in God's promise, and did not fear. They said, " Let us go up, and possess the land ; for we are able to over- come it." But the people were frightened, and began to weep ; they be- lieved the spies more than they believed God, and forgot to trust to his power. Then they murmured against Moses and Aaron, and said, " Why did you bring us away from Egypt ? We were happier there than here : we wish we had died in the wilderness. Let us choose a captain and THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 125 return to Eg} 7 pt." Caleb and Joshua spoke gently, and tried to quiet them ; but the people became more angry, and began to throw stones at Caleb and Joshua, to kill them. Then they looked up towards the tabernacle, and there they saw the glory of the Lord, and he spoke to Moses with a loud voice. He said he was now tired of his sin- ful people, and would not let them go to Canaan, but would destroy them in the wilderness. But Moses again prayed for them; he asked God not to forsake the people for whom he had done so many wonderful things ; but to forgive them, and spare them still. God heard Moses' prayer, and he promised not to destroy the people directly ; but he said he could not allow them to go to Canaan, that good land which he had prom- ised to his obedient peo- ple. His faithful servants Joshua and Caleb, and those of the Israelites who were now children, should , „ ., .- RETURN OF THE SPIES FROM CANAAN. go : but all the others must wander forty years in the wilderness, until they died. Their chil- dren would then be grown up, and Joshua and Caleb should go with them to Canaan, without the sinful disobedient parents. The people cried very much when they heard this. It was a great punishment to them. They could never again dwell in a settled home: never see a 126 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. pleasant country any more ; but they must pass all their lives in the desert wilderness. The ten men who spoke evil of the land of Canaan, died of the plague before the Lord ; but Caleb and Joshua were kept in safety. Then the perverse Israelites, instead of humbly submitting to their punishment, said, " We will go to Canaan, the land God promised to us." Moses warned them ; he told them not to go, because God was not with them, and their enemies would come, and fight against them, and kill them ; but the people would not attend. They went to the top of the hill ; but Moses, and the ark of God, and the blessing of God, did not go with them. And had they power to take care of themselves ? They thought proudly that they had ; but soon their enemies, the Anialekites, came down, and smote them, and drove them away. About this time, while the Israelites were still in the wilderness, another very sad thing happened among them. A man was found gather- ing sticks on the Sabbath day. The people who saw him knew how wrong this was ; so they took him directly, and brought him to Moses. Moses was very sorry to hear what the man had done ; but he did not himself pass sentence upon him. God was the king and judge, and it was his law that had been disobeyed : and therefore Moses went to God, and told him all, and asked what must be done, and how the man must be punished. And what did God say? Perhaps we might think that the man had committed only a little sin, and that God could not be very angry with him for gathering a few sticks on the Sabbath day. But we must remember God does not look upon sin as we do. He cannot think dis- obedience to his laws a little sin. The man knew it was wrong to do any work on the Sabbath. He had stood by Mount Sinai on that dreadful day when the Lord came down upon it in fire, to give his commands to the people ; and he had heard him say, " Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work ; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do any work." The man knew, too, that God had commanded the people to light no fire, and to dress no food, on the Sabbath ; and that no manna was sent that day, but a double portion the day before, to teach them how very holy the Sabbath was. The man remembered all this, and yet he dared to disobey the command of God. This was not a little sin, but a dreadful THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 127 act of lebellion against God ; and the punishment of it was dreadful, too. " The Lord said unto Moses, the man shall be surely put to death ; all the congregation shall stone him with stones. And all the congregation stoned him with stones, and he died." Such was his dreadful fate. This is a sad story. Learn from it how fearful it is to disobey the com- mands of God : and par- ticularly the command which tells us to keep holy the Sabbath day. Many people break that command, even in this Christian country. Some buy, and sell, and do their daily work on Sunday, as on other days. And others spend the Sabbath in idle conversation and amuse- ments. But God has told us not to find our own pleasure, nor to speak our own words, on his holy day ; and he is as angry with those who break the Sabbath secretly, at home, and in their own fami- lies, as with those who break it openly. These wicked people, perhaps, may escape unpunished punishment of the sabbath-breaker. for many weeks, and months, and years ; but all their sins are known to God, and written down in the book of his remembrance. And if they do not repent, they will surely be punished in another world, for breaking God's holy day here. Do you love Sunday ? Do you love holy duties and holy pleasures 128 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. better than any others ? If not, you cannot be fit for heaven. The happy people there will spend eternity in praising God. This is their greatest enjoyment : but it would be no enjoyment to you, if you do not like to praise and worship God now. If you do not serve him here, you cannot live with him, and sing his praises hereafter. Pray to God to give you a new heart, and to make you love him; and then you will love holy things, and holy duties, and holy pleasures, better than all the things of the world. You will be happy while you live; and when you die, you will go to that "rest which remaineth for the people of God." God told the people that he would now show them whom he had chosen to be his High Priest. He commanded Moses to take twelve rods, and to write upon each of them the name of one of the twelve tribes ; and on the rod of the tribe of Levi he was to write Aaron's name, because Aaron was of the tribe of Levi. The rods were dry sticks ; there was no life in them. God commanded them all to be put into the tabernacle before the ark ; they were to stay there one night, and God promised to make the rod of the man whom he chose to bud and blossom, to bring forth flowers and fruit. This was a very wonderful thing to do ; but Moses did not disbelieve God, for He knew he had power to do what he pleased ; and, in faith and obedience, Moses laid up the twelve rods before the Lord. The next morning Moses went into the tabernacle and looked at the rods ; eleven of them were still dry and withered ; but the rod of Levi, on which Aaron's name was written, was full of buds, and blossoms, and almonds. Moses brought them all out, and called the men to take their rods ; and when they saw that Aaron's alone had budded, they knew that God had chosen him to be High Priest. The Lord told Moses to keep Aaron's rod safely; to put it into the ark, that it might be there always, to show the rebellious people that Aaron was God's chosen minister. The Israelites were obliged now to submit to the Lord. He had punished them for their rebellion ; and he had shown them by a miracle, whom he had chosen for his priest, that they might not again speak against Aaron. But nevertheless these people were not humbled ; they cried, and said, " We shall die, we shall all perish ! " It is sad when punishment makes sinners angry and rebellious. THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 129 God sends it to make them repent and turn to him. He wishes all to be saved ; he wants none to perish ; and, when people forget him, he sends sorrow to them, to make them remember him ; to see if they will confess their sin, and ask for forgiveness. He is ready and waiting to forgive all who come hunibly to him ; Jesus is willing to save them, and to wash away their sins ; the Holy Spirit is willing to come into their hearts, and to make them new and clean. But if sinners still resist and rebel, God will not wait for ever. He will at last cut them off, and send them away from him to everlasting punishment. Then it will be too late to ask for pardon and sal- ration ; for God will not hear their prayer. We must go to Jesus now, and all will be well ; for he says, " Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out." When the Israel- ites had buried Miriam in Kadesh-Barnea, they began to murmur again. There was no water to drink, and they forgot their kind God who so often fed them from Heaven, and would not trust him. They said to Moses and Aaron, "Why did you bring us here to kill us with thirst ? We wish we had died with our brethren before the Lord? " Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before the door of the tabernacle, ■and the glory of God appeared to them. He heard their prayer, and he 9 THE BUDDING OF AARON'S ROD. 130 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. told them where to go for water, and what they must do. There was a great rock in the wilderness, and God commanded them to go and speak to that rock, and he said he would bring water out of it. Then Moses took his rod, and he and Aaron called all the people to stand before the rock, to see the wonder that God was going to do. But Moses and Aaron were tired of the rebellion and disobe- dience of the people, and they became impatient and passionate. This was wrong; they should have asked God to give them meekness, and gentleness, and patience, and to help them to bear with the Israelites. But Moses and Aaron spoke very loudly, and cried to the people, "Hear, ye rebels, must we bring water for you out of the rock ? " Then Moses smote the rock, and the water came out, and the people and their cattle drank. But God was angry with Moses and Aaron, because they had not obeyed him, and when they came to Mount Hor, he spoke to them again, and told them that they must die, and not go to Canaan, because they had rebelled against him at the rock Meribah. Aaron must die first; his work was ended, but Moses had much to do still.. All God's people have work to do ; God gives them strength to do it I and when it is finished, he takes them home to their rest. MOSES SMITING THE ROCK. THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS ]31 God commanded Moses, and Aaron, and Bleazer, Aaron's son, to go lip to the top of Mount Hor ; and there Moses was to take off the holy- garments from Aaron, and to put them upon Bleazer, and to make him High Priest instead of Aaron. All three went up ; they knew why they went ; Aaron knew that he was now going to die, that he should never offer sacrifices, and pray for his people again. Aaron knew, too, that he must have a sac- rifice offered for him, and that he needed a High Priest to intercede for him ; and he had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the great High Priest, who should come to offer up a sacrifice for all the world — the sacrifice of himself. Aaron's sins had all been taken away, his heart had been made new by the Holy Spirit, and he was ready to die. Moses took off his brother's garments, and put them upon Elea- zer; and then Aaron said farewell to Moses, and to his son, and lay down on the mountain, and died. Moses and Eleazer went THE DEATH 0F AARON, back alone ; and when the Israelites saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for him thirty days. All the people mourned for their high-priest. After Aaron's death, the people wet to Kibroth-Hataavah, and then to Zalmonah ; and they murmured again, because they were tired of their long wanderings, and of the manna which God gave them. They forgot 132 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. why it was that they wandered so many years in the wilderness; it \v^P" ? ' 1 1 ^^^^^^-I^Ictk^' ^ll|: : \; : . 1 , A \4 ■ j" '■;'.'."--" 11! 1 1 L SENDING THE EEPER OUTSIDE THE CAMP. whole bodies. Such persons had to cry, " Unclean ! " as a warning to others. Miriam would never have been cured of this disease except by a miracle. God had sent it upon her as a punishment for wickedness. Aaron begged that Miriam might be healed. And Moses prayed earnestly to the THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. 141 Lord for her, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee. And the [Lord heard his prayer and healed her of her leprosy. The laws concerning marriage and the duties of husbands to wives and wives to husbands, were very rigid among the Israelites ; so much so that one offering was ap- pointed for jealousy. If any man's wife went aside and committed a trespass against him, and the spirit of jealousy came upon him, then he was to bring his wife unto the priest. He was also to bring an offering for her, which consisted of barley meal. No oil was to be poured npon it, for it was an offering of jealousy, bring- ing iniquity to remem- hrance. The priest brought her near and set her be- fore the Lord. Then he took holy water in an earthen vessel and put into it dust scraped from the floor of the tabernacle. He uncovered the woman's head and put the offering of memorial in her hands. If she were guilty of sin, the priest was required to TH * JEALOUSY OFFERING, pronounce a curse upon her. She was compelled to drink the bitter water, after which the priest took the jealousy offering, waved it before the Lord and offered it upon the altar. This seems very strange to us, but it was intended by God to pre- serve the purity of his people and to show them that they could not vio- 142 THE ISRAELITES IN THE WILDERNESS. late their duties as husband and wife without suffering punishment and making atonement. A great many observances were required in order to keep the people mindful of God's goodness, and to sanctify them to him- self. When Christ came, these old sacrifices were done away with, because he was the one great sacrifice, and there did not need to be any other. The Lord said that when the Israelites should come into Canaan and live there, and have the land for their own, each man must take the first of the grain, and the first of the fruits, that should grow ripe in his fields, and put them into a basket and bring them to the tabernacle. And the priest at the tabernacle should take the basket out of the man's hand, and set it down before the altar of burnt-offering. Then the man should say, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And there he should worship the Lord. And the man was to leave the basket, with the firstfruits in it, at the tabernacle ; and the Lord said these should belong to the priest. For the Lord gave them to the priest, because the priests would have no fields, or orchards, in which to raise grain and fruit for themselves. And the Lord commanded each man among the children of Israel to bring his firstfruits, every year, in this way, as an offering, to the tabernacle. The people were told that on the day they should go over Jordan into Canaan, they must set up some great stones there and cover them with plaster. And while the plaster was yet soft, they must write on it all the words of the law which God had given them. Then when the plaster grew hard, those words would remain ; and every one who passed by could read God's law written upon it. If the children of Israel would obey the Lord, the Lord would make them greater than any other nation. He would bless their children, their land, and their cattle. Their enemies who should come out against them, would be afraid and flee away before them. And all the other nations of the earth should know that the Lord had chosen them for his people. But if they would not obey him, they should have great trouble. They would sow much seed in their fields, but reap only a little grain, for the locusts would come and destroy it ; they would plant their vines, but should not gather the grapes, for the worms would eat them. They should have sickness such as could not be cured. And the Lord would send against them a fierce nation that would not pity the old or the RAHAB AND THE SPIES. MS young, but would take their cattle and their food, and at last carry them and their children away, as captives, to other lands ; where the children of Israel should be slaves to their enemies, and, like their enemies, would, worship idols of wood and stone. RAHAB AND THE SPIES. YOfJ know that the land of Canaan was the land where Abraham,. Isaac, and Jacob had lived, and God had promised them that it should belong to their children's children. At this time there were many nations living in this land ; the names of some of them were- the Ammonites, the Amorites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, and many others. God told the Israelites that they were to go to the cities of these people, and if they would let them in, then they might spare their lives and. make them their servants, and they should pay tribute or taxes to the Israelites ; but if the people would not submit to this, then they were to fight against them and destroy them entirely. Why was this ? Because these nations were exceedingly wicked,, therefore God told the Israelites to destroy them. They had gone on from bad to worse, till their sins, like the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, seemed to cry to Heaven for punishment. It was about April now, and the sun had melted the snows of the Mountains of Lebanon, and these mountain torrents had made the river Jordan, generally small, swell to twice its usual size. The people of Jericho knew this, and they thought that they might rest in peace for some weeks to come, as the Israelites could not cross to fight their city yet. But ver\ soon after the death of Moses, Joshua had secretly sent two men to Jericho, to spy out the state of the city, and see how they could best get into it. It was a city with a strong wall all round it, and they kept careful watch at the gates, so as to keep out the Israelites. However, these spies somehow managed to get into the city, and they went to lodge at the house of a woman named Rahab. They had not been there long before they found out that the King of Jericho knew that they had come into the city, and that they had gone into that very house. The king sent messengers to Rahab, and said to her, " Give up the spies that are in your house, for they have come to search out the country." Rahab answered, "The men did come here, but I did not know 144 RAHAB AND THE SPIES. -where they came from, and they are not here now. They , went away through the city gates just before they were shut at dark. I do not know where they are gone ; but if you make haste I think you will overtake them." So the messengers went away through the city gates, and the gates were shut after them, and they went after the spies, as far as the river Jordan. When they were gone away, Rahab went to the spies, who were still in her house, and said, " I must hide you ; come with me to the roof of the The roofs of in the Bast are that people can them. This is house." houses flat, so walk on the place where, in the cool of the day, the people sit for fresh air, and often in hot summer nights they sleep here. Here, too, they would lay such things as required to be dried by the heat of the sun, and it was here that Rahab had laid out the stalks of her flax to dry. These stalks she meant to lay over the men, so that they might be hidden ; and that is why she took them to the roof. Before the men lay down she told them the reason why she wanted to save them from the King of Jericho. She said, " I know that the Lord has given you this land, and all the people who dwell in the land are afraid because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when you came out of ESCAPE OF THE SPIES. RAHAB AND THE SPIES. 145 "Egypt; we have heard how you have overcome all your enemies on the other side of Jordan. I know, too, that God will give you the city, and I want you to promise me that you will save me and all my relations alive when you take the city, even as I have saved 3^ou alive by not giving }^ou up •to the messengers." The spies said, "We promise faithfully to do as you say, if you will keep our secret, and tell no one that we have been here. Here is a piece of scarlet cloth : you must hang this in your window, so that we may know your bouse again. We will deal truly and kindty with all who are in this house ; so you must bring your relations bere, for if any of them are in any other bouse, we cannot save them, and the fault will be their own." The woman said, ''It shall be as you say," and she put the scarlet cloth in her window. Then she let the men down by a cord through the win- dow, for her house was upon the town wall, and they reached the ground outside the wall. Then they went and hid themselves in the mountains for three days, until the men who went to look for them returned to Jericho. So then these spies at last got back to Joshua, and said, " We shall be able to take the city, for all the people are afraid of us, and the Lord will deliver them into our hands." 10 RAHAB SAVED AND ADD HER POSSESSIONS. 146 THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. But perhaps you will ask, "Did not Rahab tell a lie?" Yes, she did, and it was very wrong of her to do so. But we must pity her; for as she was a poor heathen woman, she did not know, as you do, how wicked it is to say the least thing that is not true. Afterwards, when the children of Israel captured Jericho, Rahab was saved and all her posses- sions. This heathen woman who befriended the Israelites escaped the destruction that came upon the city. THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. GOD now commanded Joshua to take possession of the land which he promised that Israel should inherit ; and he told him to be of good courage, and only to mind the holy law and obey it, and he should be sure to prosper. Joshua then gave orders to the officers of the people to provide victuals for marching ; and he desired the Reubenites and Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, who had already got their possessions, to join their brethren and assist in taking the land, which they honorably agreed to do, as they had before promised. Joshua came to Jordan with all Israel, and after three days the officers went through the host, and desired them to follow the ark of the covenant, which the Levites should carry before them. This ark was a sign of God's presence amongst them, and that he was their chief guide. They were to keep at the distance of two thousand cubits, or arms'-lengths from the elbow to the end of the middle finger, so that they might treat the ark with reverence, by not crowding upon it, and that they might see it better than they could if they were all thronging near it. So the day following, the priests and the Levites " took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people." And God told Joshua that he would now honor him by a wonderful miracle, which should show Israel that he had chosen him to lead Israel, as he had before chosen Moses. And Joshua told Israel what God would do for them, and that, as soon as the priests who bore the ark should touch the brink of the river with their feet, the waters of Jordan should stand upon an heap on one side, so as not to flow down their channel ; while those on the other side should continue running without any fresh supply ; and so the bed, or bottom of the river, should be dry for Israel to pass over, as the Red Sea THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. 147 had before been for their fathers with Moses. Joshua also ordered twelve men to be selected, perhaps to go near and witness this miracle, for the entire satisfaction of the rest. So the priests moved forward and stood in Jordan ; and the waters dried up as Joshua had foretold, although this hap- pened at the time of har- vest, when the river over- flowed its banks, from the great quantit}^ of water; which made the miracle the more wonderful. " And all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan." The number of the Israelites at this time was six hundred thousand men besides women and chil- dren, which was, indeed, a vast arm y ; j-et it is wonderful that the Canaan- ites did not watch them, and try to stop their cross- ing of Jordan. But per- haps they thought they could not pass the river where the}^ did ; and if they saw that the waters yielded to make ^vay for them, it was quite enough THE ARK passing over Jordan. to frighten them, alarmed as they already were, and to make them run away, wherever they could, for safety. The passing of Jordan was a great event, and Joshua, therefore, commanded twelve men, one from each tribe, and probably the same men spoken of before, to take twelve stones from the spot where the priests' 148 THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. feet had stood, and to carry them to their nrst lodging-place over Jordan, -where they were to leave them. And so, when at any future time their children should ask, "What mean you by these stones?" they should be told, " that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, when it passed over Jordan, and that the stones were a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever." The drying up of Jordan must have been seen for some miles, and the news of the wonderful event, with the passage of the Israelites, soon spread among the Canaanites, and filled them with the great- est alarm, " neither was there spirit in them any more, because of the chil- dren of Israel." And God now com- manded Joshua to mark the Israelites of the new generation with the sign of his covenant with them, and they kept a solemn passover, which they had been denied in their wan- derings in the wilderness. The country people natu- THE ANGEL APPEARING TO JOSHUA. rallj fled away from the invading armies, and all their corn in the field and in store became the property of the Israelites, who took it and fed upon it, as part of their promised possession given them by that God who caused it to grow ; and having no more need of manna, that miraculous supply of food ceased, and " they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. 149 Next, we have an account of a wonderful appearance to Joshua. The person who appeared to him while he was, perhaps, thoughtfully looking around Jericho, and contriving how to take it, was no common being, or he would not have worshipped him ; and from the command to take off his shoes, which was an act of reverence, it was that Angel who appeared in the burning bush to Moses. He now told Joshua that he had come as Captain of the Lord's host, and Joshua might well be encouraged with the assurance that God would fight for him, and give him the promised land for his people. When the people of Jericho saw the armies of Israel coming they shut up the strong gates of their city; but though this would have preserved them from usual danger, yet now that God had given them up to Israel, nothing could save them. But the city was to be taken in a very won- derful way, to show that, after all, the hand of God was in it. Joshua had no orders THE DESTRUCTION OF JERICHO. to batter it, or scale its walls. The men of war were only to march round it once a day for six days ; and the ark was to be carried round, and seven priests were to march before it, blowing seven trumpets of rams'-horns. And on the seventh day they were to walk round the city seven times, and the priests were to blow with their trumpets : and at a long blast of 150 THE ISRAELITES PASS OVER JORDAN. the trumpets, the people were to make a loud shouting, when' the wall of the city should fall down flat, and every man could get in without difficulty. So the armed men went before the priests that blew the trumpets, and a number of people followed the ark, and they marched round the city daily till the seventh day. Then Joshua gave the word, " Shout, for the Lord hath given you the city." And he commanded that everything should be destroyed in the city, ex- cept Rahab and her family, and the valuable metals that might be found, which were to be preserved for sacred uses. And when the peo- ple shouted, down fell the wall, and then the Israelites marched in, " and they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword." The city was also burnt with fire, but Rahab and her family were, by order of Joshua, saved by the spies, who took them out of the camp, and she ever after joshua commanding the sun To stand stiix. li vec i w ith the Israelites. The people of Gibeon united with Israel ; then Adonizedek, who was the king of Jerusalem, "sent to Hoham, king of Hebron, and unto Piram, king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia, king of Lachish, and unto Debir, king of Bglon, saying, Come up unto me and help me, that we may smite Gib- eon; for it hath made peace with Joshua, and with the children of Israel." THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 151 So the kings united with. Adonizedek, and marched against Gibeon. And when the people saw so great an army against them, they were again in a fright, and they sent off to Joshua with all speed, saying, " Come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us.'' Now, as Joshua had given his word, he would not kill the Gibeonites; and he would not, if he could help it, let others kill them. So he marched all night to Gibeon, with all his arm}^ and God told him to fear nothing. And he fell upon the five kings, and thejr being surprised, fled on every side, and Joshua pursued them. And God made it hail, and the storm fell upon them, and the stones were so large and came down with such a force that "they were more which died with hailstones, than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword." The battle, probably, began very early in the morning, and Joshua chased the five kings till the evening. And now the sun and moon were both in sight : the sun was setting and the moon rising. But Joshua had uot destroyed all his enemies, and he spoke to the Lord before Israel, that the sun might stand still upon Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, over which they both seemed to shine, and so, by the day and the light holding out longer, he might completely defeat his foes. " And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged them- selves upon their enemies." Thus was Joshua highly honored before all the people ; and God showed to the heathen how foolish they were to worship the sun and moon, which they did, when he who made them could do as he pleased with them against themselves, and was alone worthy to be adored. STORY OF THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. GOD sent Jabin king of Canaan to fight against Israel, and conquer them. He was very cruel, and they suffered much under his power for twenty years. God did not fight for them then because they had rebelled, and made him turn away from them. The Israelites felt this ; and they remembered their sins, and repented and cried to the Lord to forgive and help them. And did God attend to these rebellious people? Yes, for he is so merciful that he never sends away any who humbly pray to him. There was a very good woman living at that time, named Deborah. 152 THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. She dwelt under the palm tree between Ramah and Bethel ; and there she prayed, and sang praises to God, and talked to and taught all the people who came to see her. She was a very wise woman ; God had given her the best wisdom, the knowledge of himself; and he taught her to prophesy; and to know the future, that she might tell the Israelites what they must do, and how they could be delivered from their cruel enemy, Jabin. When the Israelites began to cry to God, Deb- orah, at his command, sent for a brave man, named Barak, and said to him, " Go now, and call men out of the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali, and take them to fight against Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army ; for God promises to give us the victory." Then Barak said, "If thou wilt go with me, I will go;" so Deborah went with him and 10,000 men to fight against Sis. era. But Deborah told Barak, that he should not kill Sisera, but that God would give the wicked SISERA SLAIN BY JAEL. captain into the hands of a woman. So Barak and his army went and fought against Sisera ; and soon the Israelites had the victory, because God was with them. Then Sisera came down from his chariot, and ran away on his feet to escape from Barak. There was a man named Heber who was at peace with Jabin ; and Sisera ran to Heber's tent for safety. The name of the man's THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 153 wife was Jael. When J ael saw Sisera coming, she went out to meet him, and said, "Come in, eoiLe in, fear not." So Sisera came in, and lay down; and she covered him with a mantle. Then he asked for water to drink ; and she gave him milk, and he drank, and lay down again. Then he said, "Stand by the door, and if any one ask if I am here, *ay, No." Sisera was soon asleep, for he was weary with fighting and running so far; and then Jael went very softly, and took a large nail, and a hammer, and hammered the nail into Sisera's head and down into the ground, while he slept, and killed him. Soon after, Barak came to the door of the tent, and Jael called him in, and showed him his enemy lying dead upon the ground. Barak and Deborah felt that it was the Lord, not themselves, nor their soldiers, who had gained the victory, and they sang a beautiful song of praise ] to him. How glad the Israelites were to be in peace again ! War is a sad thing. If we live in a peaceful country, let us thank God for it ; because it is he who gives us peace, as well as all our other mercies. One of the judges of Israel was Othniel. This man was warlike, and was a noted conqueror. We have read of Caleb, who was one of the spies sent to Canaan when the Israelites were in the wilderness. CALEB GIVING HIS DAUGHTER TO OTHNIEL. 154 THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. Caleb was a man of excellent character, on accouut of which he was permitted to enter the promised land. Caleb promised that any one who should smite and capture Kirjathsepher should have his daughter for his wife. When Othuiel gained the victory, Caleb made his word good, and his daughter Achsa became the wife of this judge in Israel. The Israelites again forgot the Lord, and as a punishment were given over to the Midianites, from fear of whom they fled to mountains, caves and other secret places. In their trouble they remem- bered the Lord whom they had forsaken, and cried and prayed to him for help, and God heard them, as he had often done before. He sent a prophet to them promising that he would help them. There was at that time, in a place named Ophrah, a young man of great valor, Gideon,' the son of Joash. While he was threshing wheat, in- tending to hide it from the Midianites, an angel came and sat under an oak-tree near him. The angel said to Gideon, " The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." The young man asked, if the Lord was with his people, why did they suffer so much from the Midianites? and was told that he would be sent to save Israel. Gideon found it hard to believe this, for his family were poor, and he was the least in his father's house. Gideon fetched food, GIDEON OFFERING SACRIFICE. THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 155 a kid and some cakes, and offered them to the angel, who told him to place them upon a piece of rock, and showed his power by touching with his staff the food, and fire came from the rock, and then Gideon knew that he was an angel of the Lord, and built an altar on the spot where he had appeared. By command of the Lord, Gideon threw down an altar which his father had built to Baal, the false god, and cut down the grove by it where the peo- ple worshipped the idol. After that the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon, and he sent to the men of the tribes to come to him. He sought a sign from God to know if he was doing right. He put a fleece of wool upon the floor, and said that, if in the morning the dew was on the fleece only and all the ground about was dry, he should know that God would save Israel by his hand. In the morning he found that the fleece was so wet that he could wring out a bowlful of water. To make sure that he had not been mis- taken, he asked the Lord He would again GIDEON AND HIS FLEECE to give him another sign spread out the fleece, and if it remained dry, and there was dew on the ground around, he would know that the Lord was with him. In the morning " it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground." 156 THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. Gideon aua the Israelites made ready to meet the Midianites, in the valley by the hill of Moreh. The Lord knew that the people were vain, and if the Midianites were beaten, would take the glory to themselves, as there were more than thirty thousand of them, and he told Gideon to pro- claim that whosoever was fearful and afraid might go away. Twenty-two thousand went away, leav- ing only ten thousand under brave Gideon to fight the Midianites. But they were too many, and the Lord told Gideon to take them to the river, and notice how they drank. Three hundred lapped the water as a dog laps, the others knelt down to drink. We read that then "the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Mid- ianites into thine hand : and let all the other peo- ple go every man unto his place." There were then only three hundred men to stand by Gideon against the Midianites, who were GIDEON and HIS LITTLE army. « !i ke grasshoppers for multitude, and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seaside for multitude." But the Lord had told Gideon that they were delivered into his hand, and he divided his small army of three hundred into three com- panies. Each man had a trumpet and a lamp hidden in a pitcher. In the night they went close to the camp of the Midianites, and suddenly blew their THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 157 trumpets, and, breaking the pitchers, showed their lights, shouting loudly, " The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." The Midianites were struck with sudden fear, and fled, being followed by the Israelites, who killed many. Afterwards Gideon fought with and took the two kings of Midian, and destroyed the cities of Succoth and Penuel. The people of Israel wished Gideon to rule over them as their king, and after him his son and his son's son, for, said they, " thou "hast delivered us from the hand of Midian." But he would not, for, he said, the Lord should rule over them. The enemies whom they had killed wore golden earrings, and Gid- eon asked that they should be given to him. There were so many of these ornaments which had been taken from the dead Mid- ianites that they were of the value of a thousand and seven hundred shek- els, or about three thou- sand pounds of our money. There were also ornaments and collars, and purple robes, that the kings of Midian had worn, besides chains that were about the necks of the camels. Gideon made of them a splendid ephod or robe, adorned with gold and precious stones, to be worn by the high priests, and kept it in Ophrah, where, we are told, " it became a snare unto Gideon and to his house," for the foolish Israel- ites, forgetting again the power of the Lord, worshipped this fine robe, with GIDEON DEFEATING THE MIDIANITES. 158 THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. its gold and its jewels, and, perhaps, tempted even Gideon and his family to think too much of the beautiful and costly ephod. Gideon was a wise and able ruler, as well as a brave soldier. The country was in quietness under him for forty years, and he died at a good old age, and was buried in the grave of his father in Ophrah. After his death, the people once more became idolaters, and made the idol, Baal- berith, their god. The Lord was forgotten, and the brave and wise Gideon too ; for we read in the Bible, " The children of Israel remembered not the Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side ; neither showed they kindness to the house of Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel." So easily did the Israelites forget what the prophet Moses had taught, and what Joshua on his deathbed had bidden them remember — the power of the Lord and the blessings he had promised to his faithful people. Gideon had seventy-one sons, and after his death one of them, Abi- melech, having persuaded the people of Shechem that his brothers would all be kings over them, and it would be better they should choose him, by their help killed all his brothers, except the youngest, Jotham, who hid himself. Having been made king, Abimelech reigned three years, and after that time the men of Shechem rebelled against him, and there was fierce fighting, in which Abimelech was killed. He was, with his soldiers, about to set fire to a tower, in which were many people, when a woman threw down a millstone which struck him on the head, and, as he thought it would be a disgrace for a king and a brave warrior to be killed by a woman, he ordered one of his young men to slay him with his sword. . There was another famous ruler over Israel, Jephthah, a Gileadite, and mighty man of valor. When the people of Ammon made war against Israel, the Gileadites wished him to be their leader. In his youth Jephthah had been ill-treated by the people, and he asked them if, now that they wanted his help, they would choose him to be their head. They promised that they would, and, having been made captain, he sent to the king of Ammon a message, saying that the land had been given by the Lord to the Israelites, and that therefore he could not possess it, and did wrong to make war against the Gileadites. But the king would not listen to his words. Jephthah then made a solemn vow that, if the Lord would give him the victory, he would sacri- THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 159 fice the first living thing that came out of his house to meet him on his return. There was a great battle and the Ammonites were beaten, Jeph- thah and the Gileadites gaining a victor}'-, and destro}dng twenty cities. The people of Gilead were full of joy when their brave captain returned, and as he came near to his house at Miz- peh, his daughter, his only child, ran out to meet him, playing on the timbrel, and dancing in her joy to see her father again. But the sight of her brought sorrow to her father. He remembered the vow he had made, and his dear daughter was the first living thing that came out of his house to meet him. Full of grief he told her that he had made a vow unto the Lord, which he must keep. The good and obedient girl was ready to die rather than her father should break his vow, and only asked that she might have two months for prayer and serious thought before she was slain. She went with her young companions into the j . . , -, TEPHTHAH MEETING HIS DAUGHTER. mountains, and at the end J of two months came back, and her father killed her and made of her a burnt offering as he had vowed to the Lord he would. For many, many years afterwards, the young girls of Israel lamented the fate of Jephthah's daughter, setting apart four days every year for mourning. There were other Judges of Israel after Jephthah — Ibzan, Elon, and 160 THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. Abdon ; but they could not keep the people from idolatry, and for forty years they were, for punishment, subject to the Philistines. In that time of trouble, there was a man of the family of the Danites, named Manoah. He had been married many years, but had no children. An angel appeared to his wife, and promised her, as before angels had promised Sarah, the wife of Abraham, that she should have a son. But she must not drink wine or any strong drink, and when the child was born his head must not be shaved, for he would be a Nazarite unto God. The Nazarites were certain persons who were set apart for the service of God, and made vows, that they would never drink strong drink or shave their heads as other Jews did. They were looked upon as holy to the Lord. The angel came again, and then the woman called her husband Ma- noah, who, not knowing that the stranger was an angel, offered to roast a kid that he might have manoah offering sacrifice. food. The angel told him that he would not eat, but that Manoah should make a burnt offering to the Lord. He did so, and, as the fire went upwards, the angel ascended in the flame, and they saw him no more. Then the man and woman knew that the}' had seen an angel, and fell on their faces in fear. Manoah thought that they would surely die, because they had seen THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. 161 God, but his wife, who had greater faith in his love, said, " If the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and n meat offering at our hands, neither would he have showed us all thes? things, nor would have told us such things as these." When the child was born he was named Samson, which means, in Hebrew, " Hear the second time," because the angel came twice, and twice told his mother what she should do. As he grew up the Lord blessed him, and the Spirit of God came to him. He was very strong, stronger than any young man in Israel, or than had ever been known. When he was a man, he wished to marry a Philistine woman, which grieved his parents, for the Philistines were their hard masters, find they wished their son to marry one of their own people. Samson, however, was firm, and his father and mother gave way to him and went with him to Timnath, where the young Philistine woman lived. On their way there, Samson met a young lion which would have killed him, but so strong was he, that he seized and " rent it as he would bave rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand." He did not tell his father and mother what he had done, but soon afterwards came back to the place where the dead lion was, and he found that a swarm of bees 11 SAMSON SLAYING A LION. 162 THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL. were, with their honey, in the body of the lion. He took the honey, ate some, and gave the rest of it to his father and mother, but did not tell them where he had found it. Samson married, and at the feast there was a great company, and Samson said he would ask them a riddle, and if they could find it out in a week from that time, he would give them thirty sheets and thirty changes of garments ; but if they could not find it out, they should give the came to him. The riddle was, " Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness." They could not find out what was meant, and persuaded Samson's wife to try to make him tell her the answer, threatening that if she did not, they would burn her father's house. She went to Samson weeping, and told him he did not love her if he would not tell her what the meaning of the riddle was. He refused, saying he had not even told his father and his m\nd Jeroboam, and they were always fighting against one another. Were they good kings ? No, both were very wicked. Rehoboam was not like his father, but foolish and self-willed ; and his people were wicked too, and, therefore, God's blessing was not upon them. An enemy came to fight against them, Shishak, king of Egypt, and he took many of their cities, and came to Jerusalem. Rehoboam and his people felt very much fright- ened when they saw Shishak coming with all his soldiers, and chariots, and horses. They had cause to fear ; for God sent a very sad message to them by a prophet, to tell them how angry he was : — " Thus saith the Lord, ye have forsaken me, and now I have given you up to the power of your enemies." Rehoboam and his people were all very sorry to hear this. What could they do ? They did what was best — they humbled themselves before God. When we sin and make God angry, we ought to ask humbly for pardon. God is always willing to hear prayer. He heard the prayer of Rehoboam and his people, and said, " I will not destroy Rehoboam, because he is humble and sorry for his sin." So Jerusalem was spared, and Shishak went away ; but he took with him many beautiful things which Solomon had put in the temple of the Lord. Jeroboam was very wicked too. He taught the people to worship images, golden calves, which he put in Bethel and Dan. He would .not KING SOLOMON. 217 let his people go to Jerusalem, to worship God in the right way there; but he chose to worship in his own way, and to make priests of the people who were not Levites. This was disobedience to the command of God; for he had said that the Levites should be priests, and they alone. One day, Jeroboam was standing by his altar at Bethel, burning incense. A prophet of God came from Judah to Bethel, and went to the altar, and cried, " altar, altar, thus saith the Lord : there shall be born a king in Judah, named Josiah, and upon thee shall he offer the priests that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee." Then the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out, as a sign to show Jeroboam that the prophecy came from God. Jeroboam was angry with the prophet, for he did not like to hear that his altar should be de- stroyed ; and he put out his hand, to lay hold of the man of God But the wicked king had no power to hurt God's pro- phet. The hand of Jero- boam dried up directly, so that he had no strength destruction of the altar foreToed. to move it. God smote Jeroboam, to punish him for his wickedness in trying to hurt his servant. The king was frightened when he looked at his withered hand, and found he had no power to use it. He said humbly to the prophet, " Ask 218 KING SOLOMON. God to forgive me, and to make my hand well again." Was the prophet willing to be kind to his enemy? Yes, he did not wish to be revengeful; he knew he ought to love and pray for his enemies. So the prophet prayed, and God mercifully heard his prayer, and made Jeroboam's hand strong and well again. Was Jeroboam thankful to the prophet who prayed God to make his hand well again ? Yes, Jeroboam said to him, " Come home with me, and rest thyself, and eat bread at my house, and I will give thee money." But the prophet said, " No, I must not go back with thee. God commanded me not to eat nor drink in this place, but to go away directly by another road." So the prophet went away, and Jeroboam returned to his house alone. There was an old man who lived at Bethel who was a prophet too, but he was not a good man. When his sons came home that day they told him the wonderful story of the prophet who came from Judah, and prophesied about Jeroboam's altar : and of the king's hand withering when he tried to lay hold of the man of God ; and how it was cured when the prophet prayed to God. The old man wondered very much to hear these things, and said, " I should like to see this prophet, and talk to him ; where is he gone ? " The sons showed their father the road the prophet had taken ; and then the old man saddled his ass and rode after him, to seek him. Did he find him? Yes, at last he saw the prophet sitting under an oak tree. Then the old man went to him and asked, " Art thou the prophet who came from Judah?" He said, "Yes, I am." Then the old man said, " Come home with me, and eat bread." But the prophet answered, " No, I must not ; God commanded me to eat no bread and drink no water here, and I cannot disobey him." But the old man said, "I am a prophet too ; and an angel appeared to me, and told me to go to thee, and bring thee home, and give thee bread to eat and water to drink." The old man and the prophet went home together, and sat down to eat and drink. And now punishment came upon the disobedient prophet. God had seen all he did. His eye is always upon us. Wherever we go, whatever we do, he knows all. When we obey and serve him, and trust in him to guide us in all our ways, then his blessing follows us, and we are safe wherever we go. But if we are disobedient to him, and forget or rebel against his commands, then we sin against him, and his frown is upon us, and not his smile. KING SOLOMON. 219 God sent a message to the old man, while they were all sitting at table. It was a very sad message. The old man cried to the prophet, " Thns saith the Lord : because thou hast disobeyed the command of God thou shalt not go to thy home again ; but thou shalt die by the way, and thy body shall not be buried in thy father's tomb." The poor prophet saw now how dangerous it is to disobey God. When they had finished eating, the pro- phet saddled his ass and went away. He looked up and saw a lion in the road coming to meet him. God sent that lion : it came to punish the disobedient prophet ; and it rushed upon him and killed him in a moment. But the lion did not hurt the ass, nor devour the dead body of the man. The people who passed by soon came and told the sad story to the old prophet. He knew why the man of God was slain, and he felt very sorry, and went directly to the place where the lion had killed him. What did he see there? The poor prophet's dead body lying on the road, and the lion and the ass standing by it. The old man took up the dead body and laid it on his ass, and carried it home. Then he put it in his own tomb, and mourned over it, and cried, " Alas ! my brother." He said to his sons, " When I die bury me by the man of God. THE PROPHET SEAIN BY A EION. 220 KING SOLOMON. Lay my bones by his bones. I know that what he prophesied about the altar of Bethel shall all be found true." The old prophet believed the word of God. We now come again to the history of a very good king. His name was Asa; he was king of Judah, and son of Abijah. When Asa began to reign, he found his people very ignorant of God. They had learnt to be idolaters ; to worship images and new gods, and not their own God, the true God, who made all things. But when Asa was king, he knew it was his duty to teach his people the right way. So he threw down all the idol-altars, and the images, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord. Was there rest in Judah all the years that Asa reigned ? No : all countries, and people, everywhere, must have trouble sometimes; and Asa had his troubles. Enemies came to fight against him. They were very, very many, and they came with chariots and horses, and made ready for battle. Was Asa frightened ? Perhaps he was at first ; but he knew where to find help. Did he trust in his soldiers, and his armor, and his strong cities ? No, Asa knew that all these things could not help him. There was no power in them ; but the good king went to God and asked for his help. He prayed and said, " Lord, we trust in thee to help us ; we have no power in ourselves ; but we know that thou wilt hear us, and fight our enemies for us, and then we shall have the victory. Thou art our God; in thy name we go to fight against this army of our enemies." Then Asa and his people felt safe and happy, because they knew that God would hear and answer their prayer. And so he did. He smote their enemies, and gave Asa and his people the victory. Asa was growing an old man. He had had many happ3> r and peace- ful years, but now trouble came again. The king of Israel and his army fought against him. Did Asa remember the kindness of God in past times ? Did he go to him again for safety ? No, Asa forgot to do this ; he did not now trust in God, but he went to the king of Syria, and asked help from him. The king of Syria was very willing to help Asa. He sent captains and soldiers to fight for him, and soon the Israelites were conquered. But Asa had displeased God, because he had trusted more in the king of Syria than he had trusted in the Lord ; and therefore a prophet was sent to Asa to tell him how angry God was. Asa had sinned, and God must punish him. The prophet said, "Thou hast done foolishly. KING SOLOMON. 221 Thou hast trusted in the king of Syria, and not in God. Now thou shalt have wars, and battles, and fighting in thy kingdom, all the rest of thy life " This was sad news for Asa. He had been foolish and wicked too. When we are in trouble, God alone can give us true help and comfort. How foolish and ungrate- ful we are when we for- get this ! The rest of Asa's life was not happy, as it had been before. When people forget and dis- obey God they cannot be happy. Asa was not humbled when he heard God's message to him. He did not, like David, confess his sin directly and ask for forgiveness. No, Asa was very angry with the prophet who told him what God said. This was still more wrong in Asa. The prophet spoke as God commanded, and Asa should have at- tended humbly to the message he brought, and prayed to be enabled to do better in future. Asa, in his anger, shut up the faithful prophet in a hanani imprisoned FOR rebuking ASA. prison, where he could speak to him no more. But God's message was true, and Asa suffered from wars all the rest of his life, while the poor prophet was alone and sorrowful in his prison. THE STORY OF ELIJAH. AHAB was king after Omri's death. He was more wicked than any of the kings who reigned before him in Israel. His wife's name was Jezebel, and she encouraged her husband in his sins and idolatries. They both worshipped Baal, and taught their people to worship him too. Were all the Israelites idolaters now ? Was there none to teach them about God ? Were there no holy prophets in Israel still ? There were yet a few faithful servants of God; and a holy prophet was living in the coun- try, who boldly preached the truth to the people of Israel. This prophet was Elijah. The Bible tells us many wonderful and beautiful stories about him. God told Elijah to go to king Ahab, and say, that he would send no rain, and no dew, upon the land of Israel for a long time. Israel had for- gotten their kind and mer- ciful God who gave them all their good things. They did not thank him for his blessings; they did not ask him for the food ELIJAH'S PROPHECY AGAINST ahab. they needed : they were worshipping Baal, not God ; and, therefore, God punished his ungrateful people by taking away their blessings. He taught them, in this way, that 222 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 223 lie alone could give them their good things, and that he could take all away too, if he pleased. This was a sad time for Israel. No rain fell to water the ground ; so the grass dried up, and then there was no food for the poor animals ; and no corn, nor fruits, for the people to eat. A famine is a dreadful thing. But where was Elijah now ? God took care of him ; he told him where to go, and how he should be fed. There was a little brook of water near Jordan named Cherith, and God told Elijah to go and hide himself there. Why must he hide himself? Because Elijah had enemies who were seeking to kill him. Ahab and Jezebel hated him, because he told them the truth, and spoke to them about their sins, and warned them of God'.° anger. It was right of Elijah to tell them all this ; but wicked people love their sins, and do not like to be reproved for them. Ahab aid Jezebel hated all God's holy prophets, and sought for them to put them to death: but Elijah was safely kept by God at the brook Cherith. What did he eat there ? There was no corn, nor fruit ; yet he had plenty every day. Who gave him his daily food? God sent it to him in a very wonderful way. Not by a friend, nor a prophet, nor a servant, nor an angel. God sent it to him every day by ravens. Every morning the ravens came to Elijah. One carried flesh in its beak; another carried bread. The ravens did not eat the food themselves. They brought it to Elijah; and he took it from them, and then they flew away; and every evening the ravens came again, and brought more bread and flesh to Elijah; and when he was thirsty he drank the water of the brook. He was alone ; only God was with him : but Elijah was happy. There was a man named Naboth, who lived in Jezreel, and had a vineyard there, very near king Ahab's palace. It was a very pleasant garden; and the king often looked at it, and said, "I wish that garden were mine." But Naboth would not sell his vineyard, because it was the inheritance appointed for him by God; and he said to Ahab, "I cannot give my father's inheritance to thee." When the king heard this, he was angry : and when he went home, he sat sullenly without speaking ; and when food was brought to him, he sent it away, and would not eat it. When Jezebel saw how displeased Ahab was, she asked, " Why art thou so sad that thou eatest no bread?" Then Ahab said, " Because I asked Naboth to let me buy his vineyard, and he will not part with it." Ahab was lying idly on his bed, for he was so angry he would do nothing ; 224 THE STORY OF EUJAH. but now Jezebel said to him, "Arise, and eat, and be merry, and I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth." Wicked Jezebel had no right to do this ; the vineyard did not belong to her; but she was not afraid of doing wrong, or of making God angry. So she wrote letters, and sealed them with Ahab's seal, and sent them to the nobles who lived at Jezreel. What did she say in the letters ? She wrote, " Take Naboth, and bring him out before the peo- ple ; and let two men accuse him of rebellion against God and the king; and then carry him away, and stone him, that he may die." This wicked com- mand came to the nobles in Jezreel ; and after they had read it, they went to Naboth' s house, and brought him out before the people to be judged. Had Naboth done wrong ? No ; but the nobles sent for two wicked men who wrongfully accused him, and said, "Naboth has rebelled against God, and against the king." These wicked men forgot the ahab accused of THE DEATH OF naboth. ninth commandment, in which it is said, "Thou shalt not bear false witness." But the nobles attended to what the false witnesses said, and they brought out Naboth, and stoned him with stones till he died. Then they sent to the queen and said, " Naboth is dead." Jezebel was glad to hear this ; and she ran directly, and told Ahab, THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 225 and said, " Go and take possession of the vineyard. Naboth cannot take it away from thee now, for he is stoned and dead." Then Ahab was But God had seen all and all Tezebel's deceit pleased and arose directly, and went to Jezreel. this wickedness. He knew all Ahab's selfishness and cruelty. He had heard the lies of the false wit- nesses, and seen Naboth die ; and now he called Elijah, and sent him with a fearful message to Ahab at Jezreel. The wicked king was walking in the vineyard ; he felt pleased that he could possess it; and he thought he was safe now that Naboth was dead. But soon Ahab saw Elijah coming to meet him, and he felt very much frightened ; for he knew Elijah was sent to him by God. All his pos- sessions could not make Ahab feel safe and happy now. He said to Elijah, "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" Elijah answered, " Yes, I have found thee. God has seen thy sin, and he has sent a message to thee by me. JEZEBEL devoured by dogs. All thy family shall be destroyed, like the families of Jeroboam and Baasha. In the place where Naboth was killed, the dogs shall lick thy blood, and eat the flesh of Jezebel. All this shall come upon thee, because of thine idolatry, and wickedness, and rebellion against God." Ahab was frightened when he heard this message. His pleasure 15 226 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. was all gone ; and lie went home sorrowfully, and rent his clothes, and ate no food, and spoke humbly and gently. Ahab's repentance and humility soon ended. He was not really sorry for sin, and he did not ask for pardon. But God was so merciful that when he saw Ahab humbling himself before him, he said, " I will spare Ahab a little longer. I will not punish his family now." Who was now king of Judah? Asa was dead, and his son Jehosha- phat reigned in Jerusalem. Jehoshaphat was a good man like his father; but he was friendly with wicked Ahab, and came to see him at Samaria. The Syrians were fighting again against Israel, and Ahab wished very much to go to Ramoth-Gilead, and take it back from the king of Syria; and he asked Jehoshaphat to go with him. The king of Judah was very willing to go : he said, " I am as thou art ; my people as thy people ; my horses as thy horses." Was this right? No; Jehoshaphat was a servant of God, and Ahab was a wicked idolater; and it is wrong for God's people to choose their friends among Satan's people, and to love their company. Jehoshaphat did not like to go to the battle without asking God's blessing : and he wished Ahab to ask the prophets to tell them the word of the Lord. There were many wicked prophets in Israel then; and Ahab called for some of these, and asked, " Shall I go to Ramoth-Gilead or no ? " Then they all said, " Yes, go ; God will give the city into thy hand." But Jehoshaphat feared that these wicked prophets were deceiving Ahab ; so he said, " Is there not a prophet of the Lord here ? Let us ask of him." Then Ahab answered, " Yes ; there is one man, named Micaiah ; but I do not like him, because he always prophesies evil about me, and not good." But Jehoshaphat still wished to see Micaiah, so Ahab sent a messenger to call him. When the messenger came to Micaiah, he said, " Go now to Ahab, and prophesy as the other prophets do ; they all tell Ahab to go to Ramoth-Gilead to conquer ; speak like them ; try to please the king ; do not make him angry." But Micaiah answered, " I shall speak the truth which God tells me to speak." Micaiah was not afraid of Ahab's anger; but he was very much afraid of making God angry, by speaking lies and deceit. Pray that you, like good Micaiah, may never be afraid of speak- ing the truth. The two kings were sitting upon their thrones, dressed in their robes ; and all the wicked prophets stood and prophesied before them. THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 227 The prophets said, " Go to Ramoth-Gilead, and conquer ; God shall give it into the king's hand." When Micaiah came in, Ahab said to him, " Tell me now the truth ; shall I go to Ramoth-Gilead, and fight and conquer there, or no ? " Then Micaiah began to tell Ahab the fearful message God had sent to him. He said, "I saw, in a vision, the Lord sit- ting on his throne, and all the holy angels stand- ing around him. And the Lord said, Who will tempt Ahab to go to Ramoth- Gilead, that he may fall and die there ? Then a wicked spirit came to the Lord, and said, I will tempt Ahab to go to Ramoth-Gilead. I will teach his prophets to lie, and deceive him ; and they shall persuade him to go. And the Lord said to the wicked spirit, Go, and do as thou hast said." Then Micaiah turn- ed to Ahab, and said, " These prophets who stand around, are lying prophets. The wicked spirit I saw in the vision, has taught them to de- ceive ; the}^ are tempting thee to go to the battle, micaiah prophesying against ahab. and thou shalt fall and die there ; for God himself has spoken evil about thee." Then Ahab grew very angry ; and one of the wicked prophets struck Micaiah on the face, and laughed at what he said. Ahab turned to his servants, and said, "Take Micaiah away, and put him in prison, and feed 228 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. him with bread and water, till I return in peace." But Micaiah said, " Thou wilt never return in peace again ; " and then he turned to the people, and said, " Hearken, O people, every one of you." The good prophet was carried to his prison : and wicked Ahab went with Jehoshaphat to Ramoth-Gilead. But Micaiah was happy and peaceful in the prison, because God was with him there to bless and comfort him. He was more happy than Ahab ; for Ahab felt frightened and uncomfort- able, because he knew that he was doing wrong, and that God's blessing was not with him. When the two kings and their armies came to the battle-field, Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, " I will disguise myself when I go to fight ; but put thou on thy robes." Ahab was afraid the Syrians would try to kill him; and he thought he should be safer in disguise, because no one could know him then. When the Syrians saw Jehoshaphat in his robes, they said, " That is the king of Israel ; let us fight him, and kill him." But Jeho- shaphat cried, " No, I am not Ahab ; I am the king of Judah ; " so the Syrians turned away, for they did not want to kill Jehoshaphat. Could they find Ahab ? They did not know him in his disguise ; but God saw him all the time : Ahab could not hide himself from his eye. One of the Syrians drew a bow, and let the arrow fly. The Syrian could not tell where the arrow might go, nor whom it might shoot: but God knew ; he directed the arrow, and it smote Ahab to the heart in his chariot, where he was sitting in disguise. The king felt that he must soon die, and he said to the man who drove the chariot, " Carry me out of the battle, for I am wounded." His friends followed him, and held him up in his chariot, and tried to heal the wound 1 ; but they could not cure their master; he died in the evening, and they carried the dead body home to Samaria, and buried it. When the battle with the Syrians was ended, Jehoshaphat went home in peace to Jerusalem. Was God pleased; with all that Jehoshaphat had done? No; a prophet came, and said to ;him, "God is angry with thee, because thou hast helped the ungodly, and loved the enemies of the Lord." But God forgave Jehoshaphat, because he repented of his sin; he did really love the Lord, and try to serve him. His ungodly friend was dead now, and Jehoshaphat was in his own kingdom ; and he taught the people in the right way, and would not let them worship idols. But Jehoshaphat had some enemies to fight. Who were they? The THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 229 Moabites and the Ammonites; and they came in very great numbers. Jehoshaphat was afraid; but he knew what he ought to do in his danger: he sought the Lord himself, and he commanded his people to fast, and to seek God too. The king, and all his people, went to the temple ; and there they prayed for help. Jehoshaphat re- membered, that when Solomon had dedicated that house, he had asked God to hear the prayers which his people should pray when they were in trouble. They were in trou- ble now, and they went to the temple to ask for God's help. All the peo- ple stood before the Lord, with their wives, and their little children ; and then the good king prayed, and said, " Lord, we know not what to do ; but our trust is in thee." Did God attend to these good people? Yes; while the}^ were praying, God's Spirit came upon a Levite named Jahaziel, and he spoke to them, and said, "Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid. The battle jehoshaphat's prayer for his people. is not yours, but God's. To-morrow you must go down to your enemies ; but you need not fight them ; you may stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Fear not, for he is with you." Then Jehoshaphat bowed down to the ground in thankfulness and reverence, and all the people worshipped ; and afterwards, they stood up, 230 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. and sang praises to God. They sang with a loud voice, because they felt so happy, and so thankful to God. They knew that he was their friend and they did not fear. How pleasant it is to have God for our friend when we are in trouble and danger ! Next day, all the people rose very early to go to the battle : but before they went, Jehoshaphat called them and said, " Believe in the Lord your God; trust in him and all will be well, and he will give you the victory." Then the good king commanded the singers to go before the army, to praise God, and to give him thanks. It was a beautiful sight. First, the singers went, praising God in their holy psalms and hymns ; and then followed King Jehoshaphat and all his army, not frightened and trembling, but bold and full of courage. When they came to the place where their enemies were, what did they see ? The Ammonites and Moabites were all lying dead upon the ground ; there was not one there to hurt Judah. But who had killed them? Not Jehoshaphat; not his army: it was God himself who had sub- dued them all. When the people began to sing their psalms of praise, God began to save them from their enemies. The Ammonites, and Moab- ites, and the people of Mount Seir had quarrelled and fought one against another, till all were killed ; and when Judah came to the battle, they found no enemies left to conquer. So they went to the dead bodies, and took off all the fine things that were upon them. There was so much spoil that Jehoshaphat and his soldiers were three days gathering it. When they had finished, they all came together, and blessed and thanked God for subduing their enemies ; and then they went home to Jerusalem, to the temple, playing on harps and trumpets, and shouting for joy. All the countries round heard about this wonderful victory ; and they feared God very much, for they saw how powerful he was. God gave rest and peace to Jehoshaphat, because he trusted in him alone, and not in his own strength. God is now as powerful as he was then ; and he is still willing to hear his people's prayers, and to comfort and save them in all their troubles. Elijah knew that the time was near when he should be taken to heaven ; and he and his servant Blisha went from Gilgal. Blijah was going to see some of his dear friends for the last time, and to bid them farewell. When they had gone a little way Elijah said to Elisha, " Stay here now, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel." But Elisha answered, THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 231 "No, I will not leave thee;" so they both came to Bethel. Did they talk as they walked along? Yes; Elijah told his faithful servant that he was going away from him soon ; he was going to heaven ; but Elisha must stay on earth a little longer. This made Elisha love his dear master still more ; for he thought, " I shall not have him with me long ; he will soon go away from me. I will not leave him now. I must stay with him and hear all his last words." There was a school at Bethel for the sons of the prophets ; and when the young prophets saw Elijah and Elisha coming they ran to them, and said to Elisha, " Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master to- day?" Elisha did not wish tnem to speak about it • so he said softly, "Yes, I know it ;" and walked on with Elijah. Then Elijah said, "Stay here, for God has sent me to Jericho." But Elisha an- swered, " No, I cannot leave thee ;" and they both went on to Jericho. There was another jehoshaphat's victory. school at Jericho ; and the sons of the prophets came, and said to Elisha, " Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master to-day?" Elisha said, " Yes, I know it ; hold your peace." Then Elijah told Elisha that God had sent him to Jordan ; but Elisha still kept close to his dear master, and said, "I cannot, I will not leave thee;" so they came together to 232 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. Jordan. Elijah took off his mantle, and smote the waters with it; and the waters divided, and Elijah and Elisha went over on dry ground. Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask now what shall I give thee; what shall I do for thee before I go away?" Elijah had not any worldly possessions to give; and Elisha did not want them ; for he knew they could not make him happy. But Elisha wanted to be like his master ; he wanted to be a holy pro- phet of the Lord ; so he said, " Let a double por- tion of thy spirit be upon me." It was God's Spirit that made Elijah so holy, and that taught him to prophesy, and to do the wonderful things we have been reading about. Could Elijah give the Holy Spirit to Elisha? No; for that is the gift of God alone; but Elijah could ask God to give his Spirit to Elisha. Elijah said, "Thou hast asked a hard thing : but if thou see me taken up, thou shalt have thy wish ; but if not, thou shalt not have it." Elisha asked for a good gift ; may THE TRANSLATION OF ELIJAH. we ask f or i t too ? Yes J God promises to give his Holy Spirit to all who ask him. Not the won- derful spirit of prophecy which he gave to Elijah; God does not now give that to his people ; but the Spirit to cleanse and renew our hearts, and to make us pure and holy. THE STO^Y OF ELISHA. 233 Elijah and Elisha still went on, and talked one to the other, for they had mnch to say. Elijah was giving his last advice, and Elisha was very attentive to all his words, for he knew that he should never hear his master speak again. But while they were talking, a bright chariot of fire appeared, and horses of fire. They came from heaven to carry up Elijah safely there. Elijah was parted from Elisha in a moment. Elisha looked up, and he saw his dear master in the bright chariot, going to heaven in joy and triumph, and he cried, " O, my father, my father!" But very soon Elisha could see his master no more. He was gone far away, above the clouds, and the blue sky, to a world which Elisha's eye could not see. THE STORY OF ELISHA. ONE day, a poor woman came to Elisha in great trouble. Her husband was dead. He was one of the sons of the prophets ; a good man, but very poor. He owed money, and died before he could pay his debts. If this good man had lived longer, he would, no doubt, have tried very hard to earn money to pay what he owed. It is not right to be in debt. The Bible says, " Owe no man anything." But the poor man was now dead, and could do nothing; and when the creditor came to ask for the money, the widow had none to give him. Then the creditor said, "If I cannot have the debt paid, I must take away thy two sons, and sell them for slaves." The poor woman cried very much when she heard this. She had lost her husband, and now must she lose her children also ? She did not know how to get money to pay the debt; so she went to Elisha, and told her trouble to him. The prophet was very kind, and willing to help her. Did he help her to escape from her creditor without paying the debt ? or did he pay the money for her himself? No; Elisha told her she must try to earn the money. When people are in debt, they should always try to pay their cred- itors. It is very dishonest to run away without paying; it is like stealing. But what could the poor widow do? Elisha asked, "What hast thou in the house?" The woman answered, "I have only a pot of oil." Then Elisha told her to go to all her neighbors, and ask them to lend her some empty vessels. The woman obeyed, and soon she brought home a great many; for her friends were very kind, and willing to lend the vessels. But what was 234 THE STORY OF ELISHA. she to do with all these vessels ? Elisha told her. He said, " Go to thine house, and shut the doors. Then take the pot of oil, and pour out into the empty vessels." The woman and her sons did as Elisha said. Vessel after vessel they filled with oil ; but the . oil in the pot did not grow less • God multiplied it, as he did the oil and the meal of the poor widow at Zarephath. At last, all th;- vessels were full of oil. Then the woman went and told Elisha, and asked, " What must I do now?" Elisha said, " Go, and sell the oil, and pay the debt with the money; and then, thou and thy children may live upon what is left." The widow must pay her debt first. She must first think about her duty to her creditor, and afterwards about her- self and her children. The oil was soon sold ; and the widow had then plenty - of money; and she went directly and paid her debt. Elisha used often to go to a place named Shunem, where a good woman lived who was EUSHA multiplying THE widow's OIL. very rich. This woman loved God; and as she knew that Elisha was a prophet of God, she loved and honored him too. One day, when she saw Elisha passing by, she ran and called him into her house, and gave him food to refresh him on his journey. Elisha went to Shunem many times afterwards, and he always turned into the house where the good woman and her husband lived. THE STORY OF EUSHA. 235 They were glad to see him, because he was a holy man ; and he talked about God and heaven, and taught them many good and holy things. The kind Shunammite prepared a little room in her house for Elisha. She put in it for - him, a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick ; and when Elisha wanted to be quiet, and to read and think alone, he used to go into this little room. What could Blisha do for this contented woman ? What did she want? Gehazi, Elisha's servant, said, "She has no child; perhaps she would like a son." Then Elisha asked God to give a little son to this good Shunammite, to comfort her, and make her happy. He knew God would hear his prayer, and he called the woman, and said to her, " Very soon, God will give thee a son." The woman wondered when Elisha told her this ; but God attended to Elisha's prayer, and soon after the little boy was born. The mother was much pleased to have this dear child, and very thankful to God who gave him to her. The little boy grew, and soon he could run about, and talk, and learn many things. One day, in harvest time, his mother sent him into the fields where his father was, to see the men reaping the corn. The little boy was much pleased to stand there by his dear father, and looked at the beautiful yellow corn. It was a very hot day. The sun shone brightly, and it struck the head of the little boy, and made him feel very sick; and he cried to his father, " My head, my head!" He was in great pain, and could not stay longer in the fields : so his kind father called a lad, and said, " Carry the child to his mother." £ le took him on her lap, and nursed him, and kissed him, and did all she could for him ; but he grew worse and worse ; and, after a few hours, he died in her arms. When the mother saw that her little boy was dead, she carried him up into Elisha's room, and laid him upon the bed. Then she told the servant to saddle an ass directly, and to ride with her to Mount Carmel. Why? Because she wanted to see Elisha, and to tell her sorrows to him. This woman had great faith in God ; she knew he could raise her child to life again if he pleased. She took a long journey; and when she came near to Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her, and sent Gehazi to meet her. Then Gehazi ran to her, and asked, " Is all well ? Is it well with thy husband? Is it well with the child?" The mother answered, "Yes, all is well." She knew all was right, because done by God. Though 236 THE STORY OF EUSHA. he had taken away her child, yet she knew all was " well." When the Shnnanimite came to Elisha, she ran and caught him by the feet; she was so full of sorrow she could not speak. Gehazi wanted to push her away; but Elisha said, "No, she is unhappy, and we must be kind and gentle to her." Elisha soon under- stood what it was that made her sorry ; and then he told Gehazi to go before very quickly to the Shunammite's house, and lay his staff upon the child's face. Gehazi obey- ed. He went to the house, and into the room where the little dead boy lay, and put his master's staff upon the child's face. But there was no voice; the child could not see, nor hear, nor speak to Gehazi. Then Gehazi went to meet his mas- ter, who was following slowly with the poor mother, and said, " The child is not awaked." So Elisha came on to the house, and then he went alone into his room, and ELISHA restoring THE child To LIFE. looked at the child. He was dead. The staff was upon his face, but the staff had no power to make him live ; aud Elisha himself had no power ; God alone could raise the child to life again. Elisha knew this ; so he shut the door, and prayed to the Lord. Then he went and lay upon the child, and soon the child began to grow warm. THE STORY OF ELISHA. 237 At last the child sneezed ; and then Elisha knew that he was alive, and that God had heard his prayer. The little boy sneezed again seven times, and opened his eyes. Then Elisha called the Shunainmite ; and when she came in, he showed her the child alive and well, and said, " Take up thy son." The mother bowed herself down to the ground in thankful- ness, and took up the child and went out. The king of Syria had a captain over his army named Naaman. Naaman was a very rich man ; and his master loved and honored him, because he was brave, and fought his battles for him ; so Naaman had much to make him happy ; but there was one thing which spoilt all his joys and pleasures. What was it? Naaman was a leper. We have read before about the leprosy, and what a dreadful disease it was. There was no cure for the leprosy. No medicine, no physician, could cleanse it. God alone could take it away. But Naaman knew nothing of God. He was an idolater. The king of Syria and all his people were idolaters. Naaman was sick and sorrowful and he had nothing to comfort him. Some time before the Syrians had fought with Israel, and taken prisoner a little Israelitish girl, and brought her to S} r ria. The little maid was taken to Naaman's house, and she waited upon his wife. She was a very obedient and gentle little girl. She tried to please her mistress, and was always respectful and kind to her. Her master and mistress were kind to her ; and the little maid loved them, and felt grateful to them. When she saw her master suffering so much, she was very sorry, and she thought, " I wish I could help my master." Then she remem- bered that there were lepers in her own country. She had heard of the laws about the leprosy ; and she knew, too, that Israel's God had power to cure it. And she recollected Elisha, and all the miracles he had done, and she thought, " God gives great power to Elisha." We shall soon see how God blessed this little maid, and how useful he made her to her master. One day, when the little girl was waiting upon her mistress, she said, " I wish my master could see the prophet who is in Samaria. God gives great power to that prophet. He has done many wonderful things. He would cure my master of his leprosy." Her mistress was surprised; but she sent and told Naaman what the little maid had said. Naaman was glad to hear that he could be cured; and his master, the king of Syria, was glad too. He called Naaman and said, " Go to the land of 238 THE STORY OF EL1SHA. Israel; I will give thee a letter for the king there, and he will tell thee how to be cured of thy leprosy." So Naaman made ready his horses, and chariots, and servants, and went to Samaria. How glad the little maid was to see her master go! She hoped that soon he would come home again cleansed and cured of his leprosy. Perhaps she prayed that her master might learn to worship the God of Israel, and give up his idols; for if the little girl loved God herself, she must have wished all her friends to love him too. Naaman now made all ready for his journey ; he took the king of Syria's letter, and a pres- ent for the king of Israel, and went to Samaria. Elisha soon heard that Naaman was come and said, " Send him to me ; I will show him that there is a God in Israel." The good prophet did not go out to see Naa- man, and to admire and honor him ; but he sent his servant to him with this message: "Go, and wash seven times in Jordan, and thou shalt be clean." Did Naaman obey ? No ; it was a very easy command, but Naaman did not like it. Why not ? Because he thought Elisha had not honored him. He said, " Why did not the prophet come out to me, and call upon his God, and put his hand upon me, and cure the leprosy ? Why must I wash in Jordan ? NAAMAN CURED OF HIS LEPROSY. THE STORY OF ELISHA. 239 Can the waters of Jordan cure me ? I have better rivers in Damascus, in my own country. May I not wash in them, and be clean ? " So he turned,, and went away in a rage. Naaman was too proud to be cured in God's way ; but God would not cure Naaman in his way. It was not Jordan's waters that had power to cleanse the leprosy ; God alone could cure it ; but Naaman was to obey God's command, and to submit to his will, and to have faith in him ; and then God promised to cure him ; but not while Naaman was disobedient and rebellious, and proud. Naaman still suffered from his leprosy ; and it was his own fault ; because he was too proud to obey Blisha's easy command. But the servants of Naaman were sorry to see their master so angry. They wished him to be well ; and they knew that he could not be cured if he did not obey the prophet's command. So the servants came to Naaman, and spoke to him very respectfully, because he was their master, but very affectionately too, because they loved him as their friend. The servants said to Naaman, " My father, if the prophet had told thee to do a great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? But he has told thee to do a very easy thing ; wash, and be clean : wilt thou not obey this easy command?" Naaman attended to what his servants said. He felt that they were right, and that he had done wrong in so proudly going away from Elisha's door. And Naaman was humble now. He was willing to be cured in God's way, not in his own proud way : so he went to the river Jordan, and dipped himself in it seven times, as Klisha had told him, and was cured. The king of Syria now came to fight against Joram, king of Israel. The king of Syria pitched his camp, hoping that he might take his enemy by surprise; but Klisha sent many times "to Jof am, ; and warned him not to go to the place where the Syrians were ; so Joram saved himself from his enemies. This troubled the king of Syria very much ; and he called his servants, and said, " Tell me who it is that does this ? Who tells the king of Israel where I pitch my camp ? " The servants answered, " It is Blisha the prophet. He knows all the secret things thou doest, and tells them to the king of Israel." Then the king of Syria was very angry with Elisha ; and he made ready his chariots, and horses, and a great army, and sent them to Dothan, where Elisha was, to take him prisoner. When the soldiers came to> Dothan it was night. None saw them coming ; all we*-e asleep : so the 24Q THE STORY OF EUSHA. army surrounded the city, and waited till morning. Elisha's servant rose very early that morning, and went out; and he saw the city surrounded with horses, and chariots, and soldiers, all enemies of the good prophet. The servant was very much frightened; and he cried, and said, "Alas, my master! what shall we do ? " Was Eli- sha frightened ? No ; he knew that God had more power than all his ene- mies, and trusted in God to take care of him in this danger ; and then he felt safe and happy. And then Elisha spoke to his servant, and said to him, " Fear not; there are more with us than with our enemies ;" for Elisha saw what the servant could not see ; a wonderful and beautiful sight which com- forted him, and made him feel safe. Then Elisha prayed that the servant might he able to see this won- derful sight too ; and God heard Elisha's prayer, and opened the young man's eyes ; and then he saw that the mountain THE SYRIANS SMITTEN WITH BLINDNESS. was { u \\ Q f h orses an d chariots of fire round about Elisha. These chariots and horses were sent to protect Elisha from his enemies. Who sent them ? God himself. His holy angels in heaven are always ready to help and protect his people on earth. Elisha's enemies could not see this heavenly host; but God gave Elisha and his servant power to see them. THK bl'ORY OF ELISHA. 241 But what did Elisha do when his enemies came to take him prisoner? Again he asked help of God : he asked him to smite his enemies with blindness ; and God did so. The Syrians became blind and helpless ; and then they had no power to hurt Elisha. So Elisha came to them and said, " Follow me, and I will bring you to the man you seek." Then he led them into Samaria. The poor blind men did not know where they were going ; but when they were come to Samaria, Elisha asked God to open their eyes again ;